


Finally Free

by bex2313



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Fluff, Lol I suck at tags, M/M, a little Flynn/Reggie, good carrie, slow burn Julie/Luke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:47:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 58,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28121841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bex2313/pseuds/bex2313
Summary: A college AU. Julie Molina is a sophomore at Belmont University in Nashville, living with her two best friends. When she meets a cute guy in her Intro to Poetry class, he and his band help her find her way back to music.
Relationships: Alex Mercer & Reggie Peters & Luke Patterson, Alex Mercer/Willie, Julie & Carrie & Flynn, Julie & Flynn, Julie Molina & Alex Mercer, Julie Molina & Emily Patterson, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 140
Kudos: 391





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm super excited to share this with the internet! This whole thing was inspired by the idea of Julie and Luke's parents becoming friends, so expect some of that as you read! Also, so sorry, there's no Luke in this first chapter, but I promise he'll show up in chapter two, which will probably be posted tomorrow or the next day. (It's already written, I just like to get ahead before I post.) Anyway, please comment your thoughts!! I'm eager to know what you think!

Julie was majorly sweating as she pulled the last box out of the back of her sedan. She carried it up the driveway and into the kitchen of the small house where she would be living with her two best friends. “Whew. Finally done!” she exclaimed loudly. 

Carrie sat at the table, holding a glass of lemonade. “You’re really sweaty, Jules. You should have just hired movers like I did.” 

Julie rolled her eyes at her roommate. “Not everyone’s parents made it big in the 90s and can afford superfluous expenses,” she responded teasingly, giving her an affectionate grin. “Besides, I _did_ hire movers for the important stuff. My piano will be here this afternoon.” 

“Your dad and brother don’t really qualify as ‘movers,’ Julie,” Carrie retorted, tossing a lock of golden hair over her shoulder. 

“Well, I like that they wanted to help. It was sweet. Even if I don’t play anymore.” Julie’s smile turned sad, and she sighed. 

“Crap, I’m sorry Julie. I didn’t mean to make you sad,” Carrie said, setting her glass on the table and reaching out for her friend’s hand. “I know that piano means everything to you.”

Julie shook her head. “It’s not just the piano. It’s--everything. It's that Mom’s not here to help me decorate my first house. That she’s not going to be there when I go home for Christmas. That I’ll never get to bring her a song I got an A on and have her tell me how proud she is of me. It’s been over a year, but I’m still not over it.”

“Babe, I don’t think losing your mom is something you ever get over,” Carrie said softly. “I haven’t seen my mom since I was five, and I’m still not over it fifteen years later.” 

Julie brushed the tears from her eyes. “I know…”

“It’s okay to be sad. And you can always talk to me. I loved her too, ya know? And I’ll _always_ love you.” 

Julie gave her friend a watery smile. “Thanks Carrie. I’ll always love you too.” 

Just then, their third roommate walked in. “I’m back! I found a grocery store and picked up--woah. What happened?” she exclaimed, dropping her reusable shopping bags on the floor of the kitchen and tossing her braids out of her face. 

“Nothing, Flynn, I’m fine. Just feeling a little emotional about Mom. Dad and Carlos are bringing the piano for me this afternoon.” 

Flynn immediately pulled her friend into a tight hug. “I’m sorry life sucks sometimes.” 

Julie laughed at the understatement, even in spite of her tears. “Yeah, me too.” She pulled back from the hug. “I think while I’m still sweaty, I’m gonna go do a little work in the garden, if you guys don’t mind?” 

Carrie smiled. “Go for it, babe.”

Flynn nodded her assent. “Go plant some dahlias for your mom. We could be reminded of her a little more.” 

Julie threw her best friend a look. “I know you know that you plant dahlias in the spring, so I’m not gonna respond to that at all. But I will be planting some spinach and potatoes, and I think we have enough summer left for me to get a few cucumbers. And I’m putting some crocuses, daffodils, and irises in the ground for spring.” 

Julie grabbed her box of stuff for the garden and headed out into the back yard.

* * *

Even though Julie, Flynn, and Carrie had decided to go to the same college, Julie half expected them to lose touch. After all, Nashville’s a big city, and Belmont has a lot going on. But when her mom died right after she graduated high school, her friends had rallied around her in a way she never could have imagined before. 

She and Flynn had always been close, but Carrie had sort of split from them years before. But when Rose Molina died, Carrie was right there again, by Julie’s side no matter what, just like Flynn. And they helped her survive her freshman year of college. Flynn drove her to therapy every week, and Carrie went to the registrar’s office with her to explain her desire to switch from being a music major to an English major with a music minor, and to help her change her schedule so she wouldn’t have any music classes where she had to perform. She even managed to convince (read: bully) the poor woman that Julie needed to be in the same sections of gen eds as either Carrie or Flynn, so Julie wouldn’t be alone in any of her classes. 

And at the end of freshman year, when they were trying to decide where to live, Carrie’s dad found this cute little four-bedroom house for sale in one of the suburbs of Nashville. When they agreed that it was perfect, he bought it outright and refused to let them pay rent or stress about finding a fourth roommate. Instead, he simply said, “Be sure to thank me publicly when you make it big.” And then he hired someone to come take care of the property for them, and even designated a section of the back yard for Julie’s garden. 

And that garden is where Julie found herself while she tried to calm down a little and wait for her dad to bring the piano. Trevor had bought the house for them before their finals in the spring, so she had already mapped out her garden a bit. And because Trevor is a saint, he already planted the butterfly bush that Julie had casually mentioned as a plant easy to care for and hard to kill. She was excited that there would be butterflies in her backyard frequently now. 

After surveying the work that Trevor had already taken care of, she started on the small plot where she wanted to attempt vegetables (for the first time). 

Rose Molina’s two loves (other than her family) were music and gardening. And she’d shared them with her children. While music was harder for Julie to find again after her mom had died, the thought of letting her plants die with her had been more than she could bear. So she spent a lot of time caring for her mom’s potted plants inside and her garden in the front yard. Gardening had become a safe haven for her, and Julie was ready to put her brain on pause for a bit and just focus on putting new seeds in the ground. 

She was just planting her daffodil bulbs when she heard an unfamiliar voice coming from behind her. 

“Your backyard is beautiful!” Julie dropped her trowel and turned to see a slightly older woman standing next to the fence, looking into the yard. The woman had curly gray hair and warm brown eyes with just enough wrinkles to make her look gentle. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you. I’m Emily Patterson, I live just next door.”

Julie stood up and wiped the dirt off her hands as best she could. _This is why Mom always wore gloves_ , she reminded herself. She rubbed her hands one last time on her jean shorts before shaking the woman’s proffered hand. 

“Hi Mrs. Patterson. I’m Julie Molina. My friends and I just moved in. We go to Belmont.”

“Oh, that’s nice. What are you studying?” the woman asked.

“I’m majoring in English. It’s a recent decision,” Julie replied. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it yet.”

Emily smiled, but Julie thought it looked a little sad. “If I’ve learned anything lately, it’s that sometimes even when you think you know what’s best, it doesn’t always work out that way. But any college degree is a good idea. It shows that you have critical thinking skills, if nothing else.”

Julie smiled. “Yeah, I guess that’s true. I never thought of that.” 

After a silent moment, Emily spoke again. “I just thought I would come introduce myself and tell you that if you or your roommates ever need anything, my husband and I are just next door. But I should probably get back inside, now. I’ve got some bread in the oven.” 

Julie nodded. “That’s really nice of you. Thanks, Mrs. Patterson.”

“Call me, Emily, dear.” The woman smiled and waved quickly before turning to go back inside to her own house. 

Julie smiled. The woman seemed very sweet, if a bit sad. Melancholy, really. That’s the word Julie usually used to describe herself lately, and it seemed equally as appropriate for her new neighbor. Sweet with a hint of melancholy. She decided that’s how she would describe Emily to her roommates. As she reached down to plant another daffodil bulb, she heard the distinctive honk of her dad’s truck. She left her trowel and all of her bulbs and raced to the gate at the side of the house. 

When she made it to the front of the house, there were her dad and brother, along with a couple of her brother’s friends, who she knew had been bribed with pizza to help her out. “Dad! Carlos!” She called as she ran over to them and pulled them into a big hug. “Thanks for bringing my piano over today. I know it’s a huge hassle!” 

“We don’t mind, mija _._ We’re glad to help you out.” 

“Danny, Mohammad, I appreciate your help, too!” Julie said, smiling at the teenage boys. 

“Ohhhh, uhh, we--we don’t mind…” Danny said, stumbling over his words and going a little pink in the face. Julie did her best to hide her chuckle. Danny and Carlos had become friends pretty recently, after his family moved to town and he joined Carlos’s soccer team. It was clear he was a little nervous around Julie still, and she thought it was sweet. 

“Well, let me show you where we’re putting the piano,” Julie said, grabbing her dad’s hand and pulling him over to the house. “We had thought about putting it in the living room, but we don’t really have space. So Carrie and Flynn are the greatest, and they’re letting me put it in the garage. We’re gonna do like Mom did and turn it into a studio of sorts. Trevor already had it sound-proofed so Dirty Candy can rehearse there.” She pulled him over to the garage and entered the code for the automatic door to rise. “Carrie designed it, and she sort of followed Mom’s plan for ours. It’s different of course, because we only have the one piano and Carrie needs space to choreograph her routines, so there’re lots of mirrors, too.”

Her Dad let out a long whistle. “Wow mija _,_ Trevor did a lot of work on this place for you girls.” 

Julie nodded. “I know. I feel kind of bad.”

“Don’t. He loves it.” Julie jumped when she heard Carrie’s voice. “Hey Ray, Carlos. How’s it going?” She asked, doing the handshake Carlos had taught her. 

“Carrie! Good to see you! You settled into the house yet?” Ray asked. 

“I have. The movers came a couple days ago, and I’ve been pretty much settled ever since. Just making decisions about where to put things, you know. Do you guys need help with Julie’s piano?” 

“No, I think the boys and I can handle it. Thank you, though.”

Julie smiled. “Can we bring it out now?” 

“Absolutely.” 

Julie’s mother had a grand piano in her garage-turned-studio. That was the piano that both of her children learned to play on. But when Julie turned sixteen, Rose bought Julie a studio piano used from the local conservatory. “This way, when you move out, you can take a real piano with you. And in the meantime, we can each have our space in the studio.” So moving the piano into her first real house was important to Julie. Of course, she brought her keyboard as well, but that could go anywhere. It had even lived in her dorm room, basically untouched, for her whole freshman year.

After Ray, Carlos, Danny, and Mohammad had moved her walnut piano into the garage, the boys piled back into the truck. Julie pulled her dad into a hug. “Thank you, papi _._ ”

“Your mom would be so proud of you, Julie.”

“Even if I never play again?” Julie asked, her voice small. 

“Even if you never play again. But you know she wouldn’t want you to give it up because of her. She loved you and music both too much for that.” Ray kissed his daughter’s temple as he pulled out of her hug. “Now, I have to go. I owe three teenage boys some pizza.”

Julie chuckled as she walked her dad to his car. “I think they’re gonna require a large pizza each.”

Ray laughed with his daughter. “You might be right. Will we see you on Sunday?” Sunday lunches were a tradition with the Molinas, and college wasn’t going to stop them as long as Julie was still in town. 

“Not this Sunday, I don’t think,” Julie said, shaking her head. “Carrie said something about a party and she wants us to help her get ready for it. But we’ll be there next Sunday.” 

Both of Julie’s roommates were honorary Molinas, and had been to most of their weekly lunches over the past year--Flynn for the past couple of years. 

“Okay, Julie. You take care of yourself. And be good.” 

Julie smiled at her dad. He always said goodbye that way. 

“I will, Dad. I love you!”

“I love you too!” He hopped into the driver’s seat and waved before pulling back down their driveway. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie meets a cute guy in her Intro to Poetry class and a couple of his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slightly longer chapter for you! Please comment your thoughts!! Also, comment what tags you think I should use, because I honestly have NO IDEA what I'm doing with that and could use all the help I can get!! Thanks!!!!

Classes started the following Wednesday. Since she had switched to be an English major, Julie was taking her first higher level English class--Intro to Poetry. She of course also had several gen eds that she was taking, and even a couple classes for her music minor, but Intro to Poetry was her first class of the semester. It started at 9:30, and it took 15 minutes to get from their house in Brentwood to campus, and then another fifteen to get from her favorite parking garage to her class. So just to be safe, Julie left at 8:40. 

She parked her car at 9:00 exactly and immediately headed over to the Humanities building. The cool thing about going to school in the middle of a city is that ‘campus’ and Nashville don’t really have clear boundaries. So when she got to the Humanities building, she saw a new coffee shop that had taken over what used to be an art supply store. “Oh thank goodness,” she muttered to herself. She checked her watch. It was 9:13, so as long the line wasn’t long, she had time to grab a coffee to take with her to class. She stepped inside and was immediately convinced that this would be her new favorite hangout on campus. 

There were a few leather couches and armchairs scattered throughout the surprisingly large shop, a bunch of tables in different shapes, sizes, and styles, and a small clearing that was probably used for live music. It felt much more real than the too-cool-for-comfort vibe of some of Carrie’s favorite coffee shops. There was only one person in line, so she stepped on up and waited for the barista to finish up with the guy in front of her. 

“Luke, I know you’re pissed, but I have to work. So order or get out of line?” he said, sounding a little desperate.

Julie couldn’t help but notice that the guy in front of her was looking pretty 90s in black and white vans, black jeans with holes in them, and a shirt with the sleeves cut off. 

“Fine. The darkest roast you’ve got. Plain. For here,” the guy apparently named Luke practically growled. 

“One Johnny Cash, comin’ up!” the barista smirked, turning away to pour coffee into a grey ceramic mug. “That’s $2.00.” Luke dropped a five dollar bill on the counter and grabbed the mug, stepping out of the way for Julie, but still within earshot of the barista. 

“Hi, how are you?” the man at the counter asked pleasantly, turning pointedly to Julie. 

She smiled. “I’m good. How are you?” 

“Oh, I’m great! I’m really glad to have pleasant customers to talk to!” he said overly cheerfully, and Julie chuckled. 

“I guess you know Johnny Cash over there?” she asked, pointedly ignoring the guy standing right next to her. 

The barista laughed, while the guy named Luke grimaced. “We’re basically brothers. Which does not excuse him pestering me at work because he’s upset. Anyway, what can I get you?” 

“Can I get a London Fog please?” she asked, deciding at the last minute to change up her usual coffee order. 

“For here or to go?” 

“To go. I have to get to class,” Julie sighed. 

“Cool. One Curt Smith coming up!” The barista turned around to steam the milk for her drink, and she admired his distinctive style. He was wearing distressed black jeans, a white t-shirt, and a red flannel tied around his waist. 

“So you’re a student?” Grumpy Luke asked from his position right next to her. 

“Yeah. Sophomore. English major.” 

“Why study English at a school like Belmont? Don’t most people study music here?” 

She rolled her eyes at him, trying to ignore how attractive she found him. “I minor in music. But I’m from Franklin, so after a hard year, it felt like the right call to stay close to home.” 

“Ahhh, I see.” She could hear the slight snark in his tone and chose to ignore it.

Just then, the barista turned back around with her drink in hand. “And here is your Curt Smith, ma’am.” 

“Thanks, what do I owe you?” she asked, reaching into the side pocket of her backpack to grab her wallet. 

“No charge!” he announced proudly. 

“What? No--” she started, pulling her wallet open. 

“No, seriously. Luke bought your drink for you.” While his best friend was choking on his coffee a little, the barista grinned at Julie. “I’m Reggie, by the way.”

Julie shook his hand. “I’m Julie. Nice to meet you. And thanks for the drink, Luke.” She grinned at them both. “Maybe I’ll see you guys around!” When she got to the door, she turned around. “By the way, Curt Smith isn’t from London. He’s from Bath.”

“Yeah, but he’s a Brit who became an American citizen. Therefore, London Fog to go.” Reggie smirked, and Julie rolled her eyes. 

“Whatever, rock star. See you!” And Julie rushed off to find her class. 

* * *

Julie arrived at her Intro to Poetry class with Dr. Lee five minutes early. She walked into the classroom and took a seat near the far wall. There were a few other students there already, everyone scrolling through their phones or on their laptops. But she pulled out her notebook and a pen and began scrawling random thoughts in the margins. 

“Woah, those are great lines.” Julie looked up to see a guy in a light pink hoodie with a backwards ball cap standing over her. “Hi, I’m Alex. Alex Mercer.” 

Julie smiled and held out her hand. “I’m Julie Molina. Nice to meet you.” 

“Are you a poet, Julie?” 

She raised her eyebrows. “Me? A poet? Nah. Not really.”

Alex gave her a look, and she blushed. “I used to do some writing, but it’s been a while…”

“Okay. But as my best friends tell me frequently, ‘you need to own your awesomeness!’ So you may not write now, but you clearly _can._ I mean, those lines would make _amazing_ lyrics.” 

“Yeah, I used to be really into music…” Before she could continue, the professor walked to the front of the classroom and cleared his throat. 

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! My name is Ben Lee, and I am your Intro to Poetry professor. Now, I’m going to distribute the syllabus. I trust that each of you is able to read it, so I won’t be going over the nitty-gritty details.” And Julie spent the rest of the class annotating her syllabus and taking notes. 

* * *

When the class ended, Alex looked over at Julie as she was packing up her stuff. “Hey, I’m starving. Do you wanna grab lunch?” 

She paused for a moment. She hadn’t exactly made many friends at Belmont yet, and she was already a sophomore. “Sure. I have an hour to kill before my next class.” 

“Great! I know the perfect place!” Alex finished shoving his laptop into his bag and zipped it up, throwing it over his shoulder.

Julie zipped her backpack too and stood up, walking with Alex to the door. He graciously pulled it open and held it for her. “Thank you.” 

“Sure. So tell me about your awesome self, Julie.” 

She giggled as Alex led the way to the building’s exit. “Well, I’m a sophomore. I grew up in Franklin. I’m an English major with a music minor. I have a little brother named Carlos who somehow got taller than me during my freshman year, and I’ll never forgive him for it. I live in Brentwood with two of my best friends, Carrie and Flynn. What else do you want to know?”

Alex smiled. “Why are Carrie and Flynn your best friends?” 

“Flynn and I have been friends for literally ever. We bonded over music when we were kids. And then, when things in my family got pretty tough senior year, she supported me more than anyone. And when people started to know that things got bad, Carrie was right there with her. The three of us grew up together, but Carrie sort of left us behind in middle school. But she came back when she heard, and now she’s the most loyal, except for Flynn. Seriously. Like, my ex boyfriend is totally trying to convince Carrie to go out with him now, and no matter how many times I tell her she should, she refuses because ‘Girl Code’ even though our breakup was amicable and almost two years ago and Carrie and I weren’t friends while Nick and I dated. They’re both amazing.”

“Dude, they sound awesome! Also, have you ever been here before?” Alex gestured to the very coffee shop she had stopped in that morning. Julie laughed. 

“I literally grabbed coffee here for the first time right before class!” 

“Well, we don’t have to go here if you want, but their food is even better than their coffee!” Alex exclaimed. “And one of my best friends is on shift until one, and he always gives me a discount.” 

Julie grinned. “I don’t mind going back. I was just thinking this morning how much I like the vibe of this place. And I didn’t know they serve food!” 

“It’s a pretty limited menu, but the food’s amazing, trust me.” 

“I trust you. Let’s go!” Julie pulled the door open for Alex this time, and he laughed. 

“Thank you!” He strutted up to the counter, which was at this point empty, and rang the little bell. Julie followed after him. 

“I’ll be right out!” someone called from what was presumably the kitchen. 

“No rush, Reg. It’s just me!” 

“Cool, Alex, be right there!” 

“So how do you know the guy who works here?” Julie asked, suspecting that Alex was friends with the sweet and goofy barista from that morning. 

“We’re kinda like you and Flynn. We met in third grade. We had the same teacher, Mrs. Thomas, and she put us at the same table with these two other boys. The four of us clicked and became best friends.”

“Alex! Dude! How was your first class? Oh! Hi Julie!” Reggie stepped out from the kitchen wearing a black apron and stopped dead when he saw Julie standing with his best friend. 

“Hey Reggie! The London Fog was so good I just had to come back,” she joked. 

“You guys know each other?” Alex asked, looking confused. 

“Yeah, I made Julie her drink this morning and she gave me a lesson on music history,” Reggie joked, and Julie laughed along with him. 

“We really don’t know each other,” Julie explained. “He just called my London Fog a Curt Smith, and I informed him that Curt is actually from Bath, not London.” 

“Gotcha.” Alex grinned. “Well, Reg, can you grab us a lunch menu?” 

“Absolutely dude!” Reggie reached to his left and grabbed two single pieces of heavy-duty cardstock and passed them over the counter. “Our lunch menu is pretty great. I know it’s hot today, but the veggie stew is _epic_. I’m a big fan!” 

“Ooh, that sounds great. That’s definitely what I want,” Julie said, not even giving her menu a second glance. 

“Yeah, it does. I’ll get that too,” Alex agreed, handing Reggie back the menus. 

“Great. Two veggie stews coming up! Anything to drink?” 

“Nah, I have my water bottle,” Julie responded. 

“Yeah, can I get an apple juice?” Alex asked. 

“Sure man. You know where to find them. I’ll bring your soups out to you in a minute, and until then, it's five bucks for you Julie, and six fifty for Alex.”

Julie reached for her wallet. She grabbed a ten dollar bill and set it down on the counter on top of Alex’s cash. “No change. Thanks.” 

Before Reggie could respond, she grabbed Alex’s arm and dragged him to a nearby table. 

“So Alex, tell me about your awesome self,” she said with a smile, mimicking Alex’s words from earlier. 

“Well, I’m a sophomore. I’m majoring in marketing and minoring in music. I’m an only child, but Reggie and Luke are basically my brothers. We’re actually in a band together. Sunset Curve--tell your friends.” 

“Cool. What instrument do you play?” Julie asked, clearly vibing with him. 

“I’m the drummer, but I also do backup vocals.” 

“Oh, heck. I can totally see that. That’s awesome, Alex. Have you guys been in the band for a while?” 

Just then, Reggie appeared with their bowls. “Yeah, the four of us’ve been rocking together since middle school. Well, now it’s just the three of us…” 

Julie gave Alex a questioning glance. 

“Remember I told you there were four of us at our table in third grade? Well, the four of us together made up our band. And then a few weeks ago, Bobby told us that he just signed with a label as a solo artist. Using some of Luke’s songs. Which sucks because we _totally_ could have made it big with them as a band if Bobby hadn’t stolen them.”

“Shit. That majorly sucks.” Julie paused for a moment, a question forcing itself to the forefront of her mind. “If you thought you were going to make it big with those songs and the band, why are you in school? Studying marketing no less.” 

Alex shrugged and looked decidedly into his bowl of soup. “When I came out to my parents, they really lost it for a while. Acted super weird all the time, ignored me when I told them I was dating this guy, tried to set me up with their friends’ daughters. But they always wanted me to go to Belmont like they did, and I figured if I didn’t our relationship would just get worse. Which, I mean, I get to minor in music. And it’s not like I’m going into debt or anything. They’re paying for it all. So, it could be a lot worse.” 

“Damn, Alex. I’m so sorry. Your parents should always love and support you. I can’t imagine what that would be like.” 

He shrugged again. “At least they’re supportive of the band, even if they think we should wait until we’ve all graduated from college before trying to get signed.” 

Julie nodded, but didn’t know what to say. Alex shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and finally said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to drag the conversation down. Let’s change the subject. Tell me about _your_ parents. I bet they’re really supportive of you.”

Julie laughed. “Alex, I hate to break it to you, but that’s the _wrong_ direction to take if you want to lighten the mood.” 

“Dang, I thought I was right. I’m sorry.” Alex’s cheeks flushed. 

“I mean, you are right. My parents have always been super supportive of me and my brother and all of our friends. It’s just…” Julie wrestled with the right way to verbalize her situation. Finally, she just decided to come out with it. “My mom passed away right after I graduated from high school. About a year and a half ago.” 

All the blood drained from Alex’s face and his eyes went wide. “Shit. Shit shit shit. I’m sorry Julie. I should have kept my mouth shut.” 

She smiled at him and grabbed his hand, which was anxiously tapping his spoon against the edge of his bowl. “It’s okay. I’m used to people asking. Not a lot of people expect college sophomores to have recently buried their mothers.”

“Still. I should have just shut up.” 

“Alex, it’s seriously fine. I’m okay. I mean, I have bad days, but I’m alright right now.” 

The pair sat in silence for another moment before Alex said awkwardly, “So, I know nothing about poetry. I don’t suppose you’d be interested in studying for that class together, would you?” 

“Definitely! And Flynn and Carrie will be glad I made a friend today. I haven’t done much of that so far at Belmont. Here, let’s swap numbers so we can text and stuff.” She held out her iPhone to him and he noted the sparkly case with a pink butterfly on it. 

“This is a great phone case,” he commented. 

“Thanks, I love yours too!” Julie replied, grinning at the image of Freddie Mercury that took up the whole of his phone case. “Freddie Mercury knew how to rock.” 

Julie reclaimed her phone and snorted when she saw Alex’s contact. “Alex the drummer of the best band ever?” 

“It’s an accurate description.” 

Julie laughed. “Well, I should get going. I have Music Theory II in about twenty minutes, and I have to get across campus to the music building.” She picked up her bowl and carried it over to the dish return bin. “This was a lot of fun. We should do it again!” 

“Definitely!” Alex agreed. “And I’ll see you Friday.” 

* * *

After her last class of the day, Julie headed home. When she got in, she immediately dropped her backpack on the floor and practically fell face first onto the couch. Flynn laughed from the kitchen. 

“How was your first day?” she asked. 

“Music Theory is gonna kick my butt,” Julie complained. “He started teaching, like, really complex concepts today!”

“Was it Groves? He’ll ease up next week, once the Add/Drop period ends. He just starts strong to weed out those without the stomach for it,” Flynn assured her.

“He better,” Julie grumbled, sitting up. “But on the bright side, I made a friend today.” 

“Ooh, do tell.” Flynn walked in and gently pushed Julie’s legs a little out of the way so she could sit. 

“Well, his name is Alex, he’s in my Intro to Poetry class. He’s also a music minor, and we had lunch together.” 

“Is he cute?” Flynn asked, getting excited.

“He’s super cute and definitely gay. We sort of bonded over having tough parental situations. Very different, obviously. But yeah. We traded numbers and we’re gonna try studying together.” 

“Damn. The cutest ones are always gay. But I’m glad that you made a friend. Just remember, I’ll always be your bestie!” 

“Who’s gay?” Carrie asked, walking through the front door. 

“Julie made a friend today! Apparently he’s super cute, but definitely gay.” 

“Bummer. But there are _tons_ of cute guys around here. No way all of them are gay.” 

Julie rolled her eyes at her roommates. “I’m not tryna date anyone. I just want to make it through the semester.” 

“Rough first day?” Carrie asked.

“She had Groves this afternoon.”

“Ooomph. That sucks. But I promise it’ll get better. He lightens up once Add/Drop passes. It’s just his way of thinning the herd.”

“Yeah, that’s what Flynn said.” 

“Well Flynn is right occasionally,” Carrie joked. 

“Hey!” Flynn reacted, and Julie laughed. 

“It’s good to have you guys to come home to,” she said with a smile. 

“We’ll always be here for you,” Carrie replied.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie, Carrie, and Flynn check out Sunset Curve. And some more Alex & Julie friendship.

The next day, Julie’s first class was much later in the day, so she spent her morning doing laundry and trying to get ahead on her reading for her poetry class. 

When she finally went to her first class of the day, Musical Composition 210, she was a little surprised to see a familiar blond head sitting next to the right wall of the lecture hall. She pulled out her phone and sent a text. 

**Julie:** Hey! You said you’re a music minor. Are you by any chance taking Musical Composition 210 with Johnson this semester?

She watched him grab his phone and presumably send a response before setting it back down on his desk. 

**Alex:** Yeah. I’m actually waiting for that class to start. Why? Do you want to study together sometime? 

**Julie:** Turn around. And get your backpack out of my seat.

Julie laughed as Alex turned around and his expression changed from confusion to excitement. He waved brightly as Julie made her way across the room to get to the seat next to him. He grabbed his backpack and shoved it to the floor right as she made it to the end of his row. 

“Is this seat open?” she asked jokingly. 

“Dude! I didn’t even think about the fact that we would probably end up in a music class together at some point! It’s like the universe wants us to be best friends or something!” Alex exclaimed enthusiastically. 

“I know what you mean! But don’t tell Flynn. She already informed me that you’re not allowed to usurp her position as my best friend.” 

“Don’t worry; I think the universe and I can keep a secret!” Alex joked as the professor began her lecture. “Coffee after class again?” he whispered. 

“I can’t. I have another class right after this one. But maybe later!” 

Alex nodded, and the two turned their focus back to the lecture at hand. 

After class, Alex started packing up. “We should hang out sometime. Actually, the band has a gig this weekend, you should come! Bring Flynn and Carrie! Then you can meet my best friends and I can meet yours, and that way everyone will find out at the same time that they’re being replaced,” he joked. 

Julie chuckled. “I would love that! Text me the details and I’ll see if I can wrangle my girls into coming with.” 

“Great! Uh, shouldn’t you be packing up?” 

“My next class is actually in this room as well. Music Therapy 100. It’s a one-hour class that’s just supposed to introduce you to the basics of using music as a therapy technique. Flynn and I are taking it together, because she thinks I should switch my major to Music Therapy.”

“That’s awesome! I didn’t even know music therapy was a thing.”

“Oh yeah, Music Therapy is great. It’s actually used a lot for people with Autism and Alzheimers. And music isn’t the only kind of creative therapy out there. A girl that I went to high school with is studying Art Therapy. She’s super into it. I didn’t even know it was a thing until I ran into her at the grocery store over Christmas break.”

“Nice. Isn’t it cool how creativity is so healing for people?”

“Yeah…” Julie trailed off. “It definitely can be…” 

Just then, Julie’s phone started vibrating. “Oh, that’s Flynn, I bet she’s running late. Sorry Alex, I need to take this.”

“Yeah, no worries. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

Julie swiped the green icon on her phone. “For sure! And don’t forget to text me the info for your gig!” She waved as Alex walked away. “Hey girl, what’s up? Oh yeah, I was talking to Alex from yesterday. Yeah he’s in my comp class. Crazy, right? You’re gonna be late, aren’t you? Yeah, I’ll grab you an extra syllabus if they get passed out before you show up… I know I’m the best. I’ll see you in a few.” 

* * *

On Friday night, Julie, Flynn, and Carrie headed to The Ortega, a club in downtown Nashville, to see the band perform. Julie was super excited to introduce Flynn and Carrie to Alex, but she was also a little nervous. She had never been good at hiding her opinions about music, so she was really hoping Alex’s band was good. 

When they got there, Carrie shoved her way through the crowd and led them to a table near the center of the room, in full view of the stage. “I’m getting drinks,” she said loudly so her friends could hear her over the crowd. “I’ll be back soon.” 

Flynn reached across the table and grabbed Julie’s hand. “It’s gonna be great. We’ll hear Alex’s band play, hang for a few minutes, and then, if you’re miserable, I’ll fake an illness and we’ll get the hell outta here.” 

Julie beamed at her bestie. “I could _never_ survive college without you!” 

“Good thing you won’t have to!” 

As Carrie returned to their table with drinks, the MC took the stage. “Good evening everyone! I hope you’re ready to rock, because leading off our evening tonight we have Sunset Swerve!” 

Julie watched as Alex, Reggie, and ( _crap, I think his name was Luke?_ ) walked on stage. She chuckled as the lead singer said, “We’re Sunset _Curve._ Tell your friends!” Then, he turned to Alex, who counted them off. 

“Damn, Julie, these guys are _great!_ ” Carrie exclaimed. “Which one is Alex?”

“The drummer!” she practically shouted. 

“Dang, he _is_ cute! They’re _all_ cute!” Flynn added. 

Julie nodded. “I know!” After the brief exchange, Julie really listened to the song. She loved the vibe, but it felt a little bit like something was missing. Probably the missing bandmate who had betrayed them. But she shrugged. They were phenomenal even without him. She took a moment to just watch them. They looked so natural up there on that stage. Luke (she’s pretty sure his name is Luke) really knew how to work the crowd. Also, apparently he didn’t own any shirts with sleeves. It was clear that he was feeding off the energy of the crowd, and Julie was impressed. And yeah, he was hella good-looking. She turned her attention to Reggie. He looked so in his element, which was saying something because she thought he seemed so right in the coffee shop. He looked like he was having fun up there on that stage, but also rocking it _hard._ And Alex. He looked more comfortable up on that stage crushing it on the drums than she’d ever seen him. It was like she was witnessing his real self for the first time, and she loved it. She felt a wave of fondness for Alex wash over her, and one almost equally as strong for his friends that she barely knew. She chalked it up to the power of music and moved on. 

She had a lot of fun catching Alex’s eye and waving to him, his face lighting up when he saw her right before a drum solo that he (naturally) crushed. And she and Flynn got up and danced when they started their second song, “Now or Never.” The girls totally rocked out to the whole set before the next band came on stage. 

When the guys did eventually emerge from the green room, Alex led the way to Julie and Flynn. “Julie! You came!” 

“Of course, I promised I would! You guys were amazing!”

“Right? Luke and Reggie were on _fire!”_

“I mean, yeah, they were fantastic, but Alex. Own your awesomeness!!” Julie pulled him into a hug, surprising even herself a bit. But when she released him, she knew it was the right move. Alex was smiling wider than she’d seen yet. 

“Thanks Julie. Oh, and you know Reggie and Luke, right?”

Julie turned to the other two guys. “Yeah. Reggie. Luke. Good to see you guys again. You were seriously _electric_ out there!” 

“You mean that?” Luke asked, intensity in his face. 

“Yeah.” Julie rolled her eyes in response. “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.”

“For real. Jules does NOT lie about music!” Flynn chimed in. “Flynn Jones, Julie’s best friend since infancy.” She pushed her way into the paths of Alex, Reggie, and Luke. “No one comes between us.” 

Alex laughed as he shook Flynn’s hand. “You weren’t kidding when you said she was super stylish and SUPER intense,” he said to Julie. 

Julie shrugged and rolled her eyes fondly. “All the people in my life are pretty intense. Carrie’s in the bathroom, but when she gets back, she’ll probably try to scare you all.” 

“Not try. I will. If you hurt my girl I will literally eat you for breakfast. Or maybe I’ll feed you to Andy.”

Julie hadn’t noticed Carrie cutting over to the group from behind her. “Guys, this is Carrie.”

Carrie held out her hand to Alex. “Since you introduced her to your friends, if anything goes wrong with any of you, I’m holding _you_ personally responsible.” 

Alex gulped before shaking her hand. “It’s uh--nice to meet you Carrie.” 

Flynn cackled at the expressions on the boys’ faces. Julie elbowed her friends. “Can’t you guys be chill for like, one night?” Then she turned to the boys. “I’m sorry about the threats. They just care a lot. I promise, once you get to know them, they mellow… a little.” 

Alex just nodded while Reggie laughed nervously and Luke looked away and nervously rubbed the back of his neck. 

“So, did you guys want to stick around, or can we head someplace a little quieter? This is a great place to rock out, but not so great to get to know people.” 

Flynn grabbed her hand and spun her, a common occurrence between them. “Are you thinking Ellie’s? Because that was DEFINITELY what I was thinking!” 

“Duh I was thinking Ellie’s. Where else can we get good froyo this time of night?” 

“That sounds great! I love Ellie’s!” Reggie piped up. 

“Yeah, let’s do it!” Alex agreed. “We’ve gotta pack our stuff up, but we’ll meet you girls there in like, half an hour?” 

“That sounds perfect! We’ll see you there!” 

* * *

Ellie’s was a hip little bakery and frozen yogurt shop in downtown Franklin. Julie and Flynn had worked summers there in high school and were still very familiar with it. They waited a little before heading over, so they wouldn’t have to wait too long for the boys. When they arrived, they immediately headed for the biggest booth in the place. It was a round table in a corner and could definitely seat all six of them, easily. 

Flynn stood up first. “Care, Jules, want me to get you your usuals?” 

“That sounds great! Thanks, Flynn!” 

“Yes please!” 

Julie was scrolling through Instagram when Flynn arrived back at their table with Carrie and Julie’s yogurt and three cute boys in tow. “Hey guys! Have a seat!” Luke immediately dropped into the seat beside her. 

“So Julie, you liked our music?” 

She nodded, glancing across the table to Reggie and Alex too. “You guys are awesome! Your sound reminds me a lot of the stuff my mom and I used to rock out to.”

“Yeah? Your mom’s into music?” Luke asked, his eyes lighting up. 

But before Julie could respond, Alex cleared his throat and loudly knocked on their table with a fist. “So Julie and I have an announcement to make.”

Julie started laughing. “You sure you wanna do this now?” 

Alex simply grinned. “Should I do the honors, or would you like to?”

“Uh, guys, what’s going on?” Reggie asked, looking up from his chocolate frozen yogurt. 

“Alex, it’s all you. Go for it, but know that I don’t think this is the way to do it.” Julie laughed again at the confusion on everyone’s faces. 

“Well, Julie and I would like to announce--” Alex began, before Luke cut him off. 

“I know you’re not running off together, so don’t try that joke again.” 

“Wait wait, you once told the guys that you were gonna run off with someone?” Julie asked, flabbergasted. 

Alex blushed. “It was middle school. I wasn’t out yet and trying to convince everyone I was straight, so I told the guys I was running away with Allison Beesley.”

“How well did that work?” Flynn asked, an unimpressed eyebrow raised.

“It didn’t. We already knew he was gay. He talks in his sleep,” Reggie informed them as Luke snickered beside Julie. 

“Yeah, he kept talking about Eduardo Rodrigeuz’s dreamy eyes between snores.” Luke added. 

“Okay okay, well, unless you want me to share the love song you wrote for Claire Bozeman in 6th grade, you might want to shut up,” Alex retorted goodnaturedly, although with a hint of snark. Luke smirked but put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Now, back to my announcement. Julie and I would like to formally announce that all of you have been replaced. We are officially best friends.” 

Carrie rolled her eyes and didn’t say a word. Flynn on the other hand, was immediately defending her title. “If you can tell me three things about Julie that I don’t already know, I will gladly relinquish my position.”

“Julie’s favorite smell is lavender, she wants to get her pilot’s license, and she broke her toe kicking a metal helmet in a production of _Romeo and Juliet_ in high school,” Alex rattled off quickly, and Flynn rolled her eyes. 

“None of that is real. I’m still her bestie.”

“Yeah, Flynn is basically the crazy glue of best friends,” Julie agreed. “Sorry Alex.” 

“Well Julie, you can have Alex. I don’t think we want him anymore,” Reggie said, and Luke nodded in agreement. 

“Yeah, we don’t need a drummer. We’ll just stomp our feet from now on.” 

“Hey! Guys! Don’t be so hasty!” Alex pleaded. 

“Don’t worry Alex, you can join my band. Technically, we’re a girl group, and we’re more Katy Perry than Metallica, but if you’re down to wear a brightly colored wig and sparkly pants, we can make room for you,” Carrie joked. 

“Wait, you’re in a band too?” Luke asked, immediately jumping on the topic of music once again. Julie noticed that his interest was clearly biased in that direction. 

“Yeah. We’re Dirty Candy. We formed last year. We met in Musical Comp 210. When the professor made us perform an original, we decided to work on something as a group. And we really clicked. We’ve performed a few gigs here and there since then, although we’re all pretty busy. On top of school, I’m also in a sorority, which takes up a lot of my time.” 

“Man, that’s awesome! Flynn, are you a musician too?” Reggie asked, turning to the girl next to him. 

She nodded. “I’ve got a pretty varied skill set. I’m double majoring in music and public relations, and I play trumpet, ukulele, and I sing.”

“Flynn is actually a fantastic jazz trumpeter. Girl has got _soul!”_ Julie announced. 

As Reggie pounced on that fact, Luke turned to Julie. “What about you, Julie? You’re a musician too, right?” he asked. 

She hesitated. Carrie and Alex were talking more Dirty Candy, and Reggie and Flynn were bonding over their love of jazz. There was no one to help her this time, but she still didn’t want to get into it. “Not really. But I’ve always loved music. There’s something almost magical about it. Like, music can change your whole mood. It can make impossible things seem less impossible. And it sort of has this time-defying quality. I don’t know how to explain it, exactly.”

“I totally know what you mean! Like, I can mark the stages of my life, the most important moments, in music. And hearing a particular song just takes me back!” Luke exclaimed, his eyes brightened in excitement. 

“Yes! Exactly! Like, when I hear Taylor Swift’s first album, it takes me right back to middle school, and suddenly I have a huge crush on Nick Hatcher again, and I’m wearing ugly pink tights and eating peanut butter mixed with yogurt on toast for breakfast every morning. And listening to the songs from _The Sound of Music_ takes me back to my childhood, when Mom and I used to watch it together. And then there are the lullabies that she used to sing to me and Carlos. ‘Una Mariposita’ was my favorite. And then there’s the classical music my dad listens to when he’s cooking dinner or doing edits after a photo shoot. Music makes up the fabric of my past, you know?” 

“Yeah, I do! Like, I’ll never forget the first time I ever heard a Guns N’ Roses song. ‘Welcome to the Jungle.’ It came on the radio my dad gave me when I was ten. I was sitting in my room, supposed to be working on my homework, but instead I was laying on the floor on my stomach, flipping through stations, trying to find music I liked. I swear, I hear that song and I can smell the chocolate chip cookies mom had in the oven. I can feel the shag rug on my arms. It was when I knew I wanted to be a musician.” Luke was practically vibrating with enthusiasm. 

“So what inspires you as a musician?” Julie asked, knowing somewhere in the back of her mind that she was diving down a rabbit hole and not caring in the least. Somehow, Luke’s intensity about music was invigorating. 

“I love that music gives people a vocabulary for things they don’t necessarily have words for. Like, when Alex plays “Somebody to Love,” he’s frustrated that he’s single. Or when Reggie turns on “Please Stay” by Beecake, he’s thinking of his parents. It gives their feelings a voice without having to put words to whatever it is on their minds. I want to do that. I want my music to resonate with people’s emotions. To give them words. To… I don’t know how to put it…”

“To offer release for their feelings,” Julie offered. 

“Yes! You get it!” Luke was beaming at her. 

Julie shrugged. “My mom used to write music. Some of my sweetest childhood memories are listening to the songs she wrote.”

“Dude, that’s awesome! No wonder you get it! Why doesn’t she write anymore?” 

“She died about a year and a half ago.” Julie looked down at her lemon froyo with gummy worms, waiting for the inevitable. 

“Damn. I’m sorry. Is she why you’re so into music?” 

Julie looked up, feeling a strange sense of relief that he didn’t dwell on her loss, ask questions about it, comment on how difficult it must’ve been. She smiled at him. “Yeah. She taught me everything she knew. Between her and Carrie’s dad, I had a very well-rounded musical education.” 

“Carrie’s dad?” Luke asked. 

“Yeah, he’s kind of a big musician.” After a moment’s pause, she answered the question written all over Luke’s face. “Trevor Wilson.”

“THE Trevor Wilson?? Of The Tributes???” Reggie had overheard and was now freaking out. “Oh my gosh he’s my IDOL.”

While Reggie rambled on, Carrie rolled her eyes and gave Julie a look that said, _Really? You had to tell them?_ Julie shrugged in response. _They were going to find out eventually,_ she tried to respond with her eyes. Carrie just gave a resigned nod and sighed. 

“Well, if we’re just going to talk about my dad the rest of the night, I’m going home. I’m tired.” Carrie’s voice was shrill and very cold. She nudged Julie to let her out, who in turn nudged Luke, who hopped out of the booth looking very confused. 

“It was really great meeting you guys! We should do this again!” Alex said, clearly aware of Carrie’s feelings, even as Reggie was totally oblivious. 

“Yeah, totally!” Julie agreed as Carrie brushed past her to the exit. She gestured to Flynn to follow. “I’ll be right there, okay?” Flynn nodded and waved to the guys, following Carrie out the door. 

“I’m sorry guys, Carrie’s a little sensitive about people only wanting to be friends with her because of her dad. I should have kept my mouth shut.”

“Hey, I get it. I hope we didn’t just blow it with her,” Alex worried. 

Julie shook her head. “You didn’t. I promise. She’ll come back around. Just give her some time, and don’t pester her about Trevor unless she mentions him first.” 

Reggie’s eyes went wide. “Crap. I didn’t mean to upset her. She’s super cool! Clearly it’s genetic, because her dad is super cool too! But I thought she was cool even before!”

Julie smiled. “I know, and don’t worry, she’ll realize it too. But I should probably catch up. I’ll see you guys later!” 

“I’m counting on it!” Luke said with a grin that took Julie’s breath away. 

“Bye Julie!” Reggie exclaimed. 

“See you Monday!” Alex added with a wave as she walked out of the shop into the cool night air. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie finally plays music again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for my two-day absence. I try to take a technology break during the weekends. But enjoy this next chapter!! And don't forget to comment!!

On Saturday morning, Julie grabbed her guitar and sat out on the screened in porch at the side of the house. Her conversation with Luke the night before had reminded her of some of her favorite memories of her mother, and she felt compelled to bring them more fully to life with music. She began picking the melody for “Una Mariposita,” and she could practically hear her mother’s voice singing to her. She didn’t even realize she was crying until she heard someone say, “Are you okay dear?” 

She set down the guitar and wiped her cheeks as she turned to see who had spoken. There was her neighbor Emily, standing just outside the door to the porch, looking concerned. Julie smiled. “Hi Emily. I’m fine. Is there something I can help you with?” She got up and opened the door, inviting the older woman onto the porch. The pair sat on the large, wrought-iron, cushioned sectional that Carrie had insisted on. 

“I just heard the music and felt compelled to come tell you how lovely you sound.”

“Oh, thank you.” 

“I don’t want to pry, but why were you crying, Julie?” 

Julie smiled sadly at the woman. “The song I was playing, it was a lullaby my mom used to sing to me. She passed last spring, and sometimes it just hits me.” 

“Oh darling.” Emily reached over and squeezed Julie’s hand gently. “I’m so sorry for your loss.” 

Somehow, the gesture felt very maternal, and Julie’s started to cry again. Suddenly, Emily was hugging her and brushing her hair back the way her mother used to, and Julie was acutely aware of the fact that she was sobbing into a stranger’s shoulder, but she couldn’t stop. “Oh, it’s alright sweetheart. It’s good to cry when you’re sad. Tears cleanse your soul.” 

After a few minutes, Julie had calmed down enough to pull away. “I’m so so sorry. I don’t know what set me off. I’m usually better at holding it together.” 

“Julie, don’t apologize. Grief and I are well-acquainted. Sometimes the smallest things can bring it all back.”

“Still, I’m a little embarrassed,” Julie admitted. 

“Well, don’t focus on your tears. Why don’t you tell me about yourself. Or ask me some questions if you’d rather.” Emily smiled encouragingly at her. 

“Okay... How long have you been married?”

Emily’s smile widened. “Mitch and I were high school sweethearts, but we didn’t get married until I finished graduate school. I’m a librarian, you see. But we’ve been married for thirty-two years next month.”

“That’s amazing. My parents made it to twenty before Mom died.”

“Twenty years is a long time to be married. It’s impressive.”

“Yeah. If I ever get married, I hope to have a marriage as happy as theirs.”

“It’s a lot of work, but well worth it,” Emily commented. 

“Do you have any kids?” Julie asked. 

Emily’s smile turned sad. “We have a son, but we’re estranged.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine not being close with my parents,” Julie said, this time being the one to reach for her companion and gently grab her hand for a moment.

“It’s one of my biggest regrets,” Emily admitted. 

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” Julie tried to reassure her. 

“No, I don’t mind. He was our miracle. We were told it was highly unlikely that we could have children, and we couldn’t afford fertility treatments. So when I got pregnant at thirty-four, we were so surprised and completely overjoyed. But when he was in high school he decided he didn’t want to pursue a… conventional path. His father and I just wanted a safe, secure future for him. We fought all the time, and the day he graduated, he moved out. We haven’t seen or heard from him since. He lives with some of his friends, and they text us every now and then, letting us know that he’s safe. But I wish I could take back some of the things I said.” 

“I’m sorry.” Julie didn’t know what else to say. “Have you tried to talk to him since then?”

Emily smiled again, but it looked strained. “I wouldn’t know what to say. I try to think of the words, but they evade me. I never was good with words.”

“I’m no expert, but sometimes just reaching out is enough. At least to start.” Julie immediately felt bad for offering unsolicited advice. She colored. “I’m sorry, it’s not my business.” 

“It’s alright dear. That’s not a bad idea... Do you have any other questions?” 

“What sort of things do you do for fun?” Julie tried to change the subject to something less upsetting. 

“Well, I love to bake and read. And I’ve always really enjoyed painting, although I’m not very good.”

“You bake? I always wanted to, but Mom was never very good, so she couldn’t teach me.”

“Well I would love to teach you, if you’re interested.” 

“Really?” Julie was a little surprised. 

“Certainly. It would be nice to share all of the years of experience I have with someone.” 

“Thanks, Emily. I would seriously love that.”

“Well let me give you my number, and when you know you have a couple of hours free, you let me know and we’ll set something up.”

Julie handed her phone to the older woman. “That’s amazing, Emily. Thank you!” 

Emily typed her number in and returned the phone. “I should probably be heading home, but I’ve enjoyed this. And I’m looking forward to baking with you sometime.”

“Me too. Thanks, Emily. I’ll see you around.”

Before Emily had made it back to her house, Julie sent her a text. 

**Julie Molina:** Hi Emily! This is Julie Molina! I’m glad you came over today! It was good talking to you!

**Emily Patterson:** It was good talking to you too! And I’m excited to bake with you sometime! 

* * *

Sunday lunch at the Molinas was a big but very casual affair. The Sunday after the first week of classes, every seat at the table was filled: there was Ray, of course, and Julie and her roommates, and Carlos and his friends Danny and Ryan, and Julie’s Tia Victoria, her mom’s sister. It was a boisterous affair, with everyone talking and laughing and filling each other in on their week over spaghetti. Julie told everyone about meeting Alex and his friends and little bits about getting to know Emily (she didn’t want everyone to know she’d cried all over a stranger). Carlos announced that he was joining the cross country team to stay in shape during soccer’s off-season, and Tia Victoria told a ridiculous story about one of her patients coming in and immediately puking all over her brand new shoes. It was a comfortable meal and it passed quickly.

When everyone had finished eating and Julie and her roommates were about to head back to their house, Ray pulled Julie aside. “Mija, I found this earlier this week, when I was going through your mother’s desk. She wrote it for you.” He handed her a few sheets of paper, and Julie looked down at them. It was sheet music, handwritten in her mother’s beautiful, elegant script. A song. She immediately teared up. 

“Thank you, papi.” Her father pulled her into a hug. 

“She loved you so much.”

“I know.”

“I love you so much, too. I’m so proud of you, Julie.”

“Thanks Dad. I love you too.” 

“I know.” He released her from their hug. “Now go on, your friends are waiting for you.” 

* * *

Julie carried her mom’s song around with her all week. She sightread the whole thing the day her dad gave it to her and could hear the melody in her head. But actually sitting down to play it was a whole other thing. But she realized, after her conversation with Luke and then crying all over Emily, that playing music was a way to keep her mother alive, to keep her voice in her head and heart.

On Friday, after thinking it over all day, she rushed home and headed immediately to the garage-studio, not even stopping to drop off her backpack. Her Shakespeare class didn’t end until 6:30, and it was almost seven by the time she finally got home. She was finally ready. She sat down on the piano bench and set each sheet of music carefully in front of her. She lifted the lid from the keys and smiled sadly, looking up. “This is for you, Mom.” And then she began to play.

“Here’s one thing I want you to know. 

You got someplace to go. 

Life’s a test yeah, but you go toe-to-toe. 

You don’t give up no, you grow. 

“And you use your pain, cause it makes you you

Though I wish I could hold you through it.

I know it’s not the same, You got livin’ to do

And I just want you to do it.” 

The words and the music were like a balm for her soul. She could hear her mother’s love for her in every note, in every word. It gave her strength in an area of life where she’d felt weak for so long. 

“So get up, get out, relight that spark. You know the rest by heart.” 

* * *

Luke’s mom texted him on Wednesday, out of the blue, inviting him to dinner on Friday night. After panicking a lot, and ensuring that Alex and Reggie were also welcome, he hesitantly accepted. So there he was, outside his parents’ house, anxiously thinking of ways to get out of this dinner. But Reggie and Alex, best friends that they were, pulled him out of Alex’s jeep and dragged him to the door. Then, right at 6:15, Alex knocked. 

“Guys, this is a bad idea. I said a _lot_ of really shitty stuff to her. I haven’t seen or heard from her in over a year!!” Luke freaked while they waited for someone to open the door. 

“Luke, take a deep breath. Your mom loves you. Your dad loves you. This is an olive branch. A good sign. Look at me.” Alex grabbed Luke’s arms and turned him so they were face to face. “Breathe in for four. Ready? One. Two. Three. Four. Now hold. Two. Three. Four. Now out. Two. Three. Four.” 

Luke followed Alex’s lead and did the breathing exercise all of them practiced for Alex’s panic attacks. He nodded. “Thanks, dude.”

Alex smiled as the door opened and revealed Emily Patterson in her favorite grey dress with a blue cardigan. “Boys! I’m glad you’re here! I hope you’re hungry!” 

“Hey Mom,” Luke said, awkwardly looking at the floor as he twisted his ring around his forefinger. 

Emily pulled him into a hug. “It’s good to see you, honey.” When she released him, she hugged Reggie and then Alex. “Come on, dinner’s on the table. I made vegetable lasagna!”

“That’s my favorite!” Reggie exclaimed, and Emily laughed. 

“I know. There’s also garlic bread, which Alex loves, and a salad, and we’re having chocolate chip cookies and ice cream for dessert, just for Luke.”

“Thanks for all our favorites, Mrs. P; everything smells wonderful,” Alex responded as the group followed her to the dining room. 

* * *

Dinner was incredibly awkward. When Luke tentatively mentioned the band, his dad scowled and his mom’s smile turned very tense. After that, he didn’t know what to say. Reggie and Alex mostly kept up the conversation with his mom; his dad didn’t say much of anything. When it was finally over, Luke practically ran out of the house. He heard Reggie making excuses for him before following him out the door. 

But before he made it to the car, he heard the most amazing voice coming from next door. Luke was floored. This girl had the voice of an angel. He stopped dead in his tracks to listen. Alex and Reggie noticed him staring at the house next door. They met each other’s eyes and walked over to Luke standing at the edge of the driveway. When they heard the voice singing, they were impressed too.

“Wow. She’s great,” Reggie said.

“Great? She’s amazing! Like, the best I’ve ever heard! We have to tell her!” Luke blurted out. 

“Dude? Calm down. We don’t know who lives there,” Alex said, trying to project chill onto his friend. “And we are not going to burst into some random girl’s garage while she’s practicing and bother her. I mean, I would be pissed if some random strangers walked in while I was working!” 

“But she’s--she’s--gah. She’s got a wrecking ball of talent! Her voice is like an angel’s! I need to tell her!” 

“No, Luke.” But of course, Luke didn’t listen. Instead, he ran across the property line and into the neighbor’s yard. “Dude, come back here!” Alex hissed, and Luke ignored him. He snuck over to the open side door and peeked. 

“i think thats julie! and shes crying?!” Luke texted his friends, who promptly joined him at the door. 

“omg julie csn siiing!!!!!” Reggie texted back excitedly after also peeking and then ducking so he wouldn’t be seen. By the time he looked in, Flynn had joined her and was sitting on the bench next to her, hugging her. 

“We should leave. She’s crying, and we don’t want to embarrass her! Come on, guys!” Alex started backing away but tripped over a potted plant at the edge of the driveway. It made a loud crashing sound, and Alex yelped a little as he fell. 

Almost immediately, Julie and Flynn were standing in the doorway, looking skeptically at the two crouched boys and Alex, who was sprawled on his back on top of the broken flower pot. 

“What the heck? What are you guys doing here? And how did you find us?” Julie demanded, her eyes as fiery as they were teary. All three guys jumped up and crowded together, trying to look small. 

“I’m so sorry, Julie. We had dinner with Luke’s parents and as we were leaving, we heard you singing, and well, Luke was impressed.” Alex was anxiously wiping dirt off his pants as he spoke very quietly. 

“Julie, was that you singing in there? You were AMAZING!” Luke began babbling. “Like seriously, why did you say that you’re not a musician! You have the voice of an ANGEL! You’re a freaking WRECKING BALL of talent!” 

“You were listening to me?!?!?” Julie half-shouted. 

“In our defense, we did stop him from rushing in while you were singing!” Reggie pointed out. 

Julie rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t make your sudden and surprising arrival at my home any better! Especially since you shouldn’t even know where I live! And you eavesdropped on a private moment!” 

“We couldn’t help it! The door was open!” Luke whined. “Did you write that song?? It was awesome!!” 

“My mom wrote it before she died. Dad just found it and gave it to me last weekend.” Julie knew her voice sounded shaky, and she couldn’t bring herself to look at anyone. Flynn pulled her into a side hug. 

“She was an amazing songwriter.” Luke sounded breathless.

Julie looked up at him. “I know. I miss her every day.” 

No one quite knew what to say to that, and after a moment, Flynn spoke up. “So, can we get back to how exactly you boys are here, standing in our driveway eavesdropping on my girl?” 

Alex looked pointedly at his friends, but when no one else opened their mouths, he sighed and began to explain. “Luke grew up next door. His mom invited us for dinner, and when we were leaving, Luke heard Julie. He wanted to know whose ‘angelic voice’ he was hearing, so he trespassed against everyone’s better judgement.” He shrugged and rolled his eyes. “Luke has a thing about music. You may’ve noticed. But talent is like a magnet, and apparently he can’t resist the pull.” 

“Hey, that doesn’t sound good! I’m just really into music, and I love telling people when they’re awesome!” Luke protested, which made Julie chuckle. 

“You are awesome, Julie,” Alex agreed, and she smiled. 

“Thanks, Alex.” 

“OK, for the record, I _literally_ just said the same thing and got shouted at,” Luke pouted.

Julie laughed. “Thanks Luke,” she said, exaggerating her tone and facial expression. But his face brightened when she did, and she was vaguely reminded of a puppy.

“Well, I texted your dad, who has decided he and Carlos are bringing over celebratory pizza. I think Tia Victoria may also show up,” Flynn said, drawing Julie’s attention back to her. “He seemed relieved.”

“I think we all are,” Carrie said from the front door of the house. “How did they get here?” 

Julie laughed. “It’s kind of a story.” She turned to them. “Do you guys wanna come in? Dad’s bringing pizza.”

“Thanks, but we already ate, and Reggie has an early shift tomorrow. We should probably go,” Alex said regretfully. 

“Next time,” Luke said, using a little bit of a macho tone. 

Julie rolled her eyes fondly. “Okay rockstar. See you guys later!”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie and Emily start their baking lessons, and Julie and Alex meet a hot skateboarder.

Sure enough, Julie started seeing the boys everywhere. Obviously, she and Alex sat together in class every day, and they studied together a lot too. And Reggie, who was also into jazz, started showing up at their house to jam with Flynn. And Luke. He would show up wherever he knew she was going to be and pester her to join their band.

“Julie, your voice is incredible! You can’t hide that from the world!” he would say, pleading with her, giving her puppy eyes. But she would always just sigh and shake her head. 

“I’m not ready to start performing for strangers, Luke.” 

And then she would change the subject and talk to Luke about the songs he was writing or her classes or crazy customer encounters he had at his job at the hardware store. And she _really_ liked talking to Luke. He put her at ease somehow. All of them did, but Luke especially. She couldn’t explain it, and couldn’t bring herself to try when Flynn asked. But regardless, she was glad to incorporate these boys into the rhythms of her life. 

* * *

The day after her “Big Breakthrough,” as Flynn was calling it, Julie texted Emily Patterson to see when she might be free for a baking lesson. 

**Julie Molina:** Hi Emily! I was wondering if you might have time either this weekend or an evening this upcoming week to bake together? I know it’s sort of short notice, so no worries if you can’t fit me in.

Emily responded almost immediately. 

**Emily Patterson:** Hi Julie! Yes, I was just thinking about what we should start with! My book club meets on Tuesday nights and I work Monday and Wednesday evenings, so are you free tomorrow afternoon?

**Julie Molina:** I have lunch with my family on Sundays, but I’m usually back by 2:00. Does that work?

**Emily Patterson:** That sounds perfect! Also, are you allergic to anything? I would hate to have you try to bake something that you couldn’t eat!

**Julie Molina:** Nope! No allergies! I’ll see you tomorrow at 2! 

Promptly at 2 pm the next day, Julie rang her neighbor’s doorbell. A slightly older man with grey hair and thick glasses opened the door. “You must be Julie. Come on in, Emily is expecting you.” Julie followed him into the house. “I’m Mitch, Emily’s husband. I understand you and your roommates are students at Belmont.” 

“Yes sir. I’m majoring in English, my roommate Flynn is double majoring in Public Relations and Music; my other roommate Carrie is majoring in Music.”

“That’s nice.”

“Yeah, it’s really great to live with people I love.” 

The pair walked into the kitchen where Emily was waiting, pulling ingredients out of the pantry. 

“Julie! Welcome! Are you ready to try your hand at chocolate chip cookies?” Emily asked, her face brightening when Julie walked in the room.

“Definitely! I love chocolate chip cookies! They’re one of my favorites!”

“Well, I’ll let you ladies get to it. It was nice meeting you, Julie,” Mitch said quietly before leaving the women to their baking. 

“Chocolate chip cookies are my son’s favorite dessert, so I used to make them all the time when he was growing up.” 

“Well they’re my brother’s favorite too, so it’ll be fun to be able to make them for him!” Julie tried to lighten the mood. 

“First, I don’t want you to ruin your clothes, so pick out an apron; I have a wide variety for you to choose from.” Emily pointed to a hook on the wall, and Julie started picking through the brightly colored aprons that hung there. 

“These are so beautiful! I don’t want any of them to get ruined either!” Julie replied. 

“Oh sweetheart, that’s what they’re for!” Emily dismissed her concerns and pulled one off the hook. It was dark blue and had bright pink flowers all over it. “Here, why don’t you use this one?”

“It’s beautiful,” Julie said, admiring the design. “These sort of look like dahlias.”

“They are dahlias. My sister-in-law is a botanist, and for years she would give me an article of clothing or a piece of jewelry featuring a different plant.”

Julie took a deep breath as she pulled the apron over her head and tied it around her waist. “I love dahlias,” she said quietly. 

“Are you ready to begin? Chocolate chip cookies are pretty easy, but you don’t want to miss a step!” 

Emily walked Julie through the process of making chocolate chip cookies, and Julie was impressed at how good a teacher she was. She made sure Julie did each step herself, demonstrating if necessary, but usually just talking her through it. She was also incredibly patient with Julie, even when she accidentally dropped a bag of flour, spilling it everywhere. 

“Oh, don’t worry about it! It’s not a big deal! I’ve made much bigger messes than that, believe me!” 

While the cookies baked, Julie and Emily worked together to tidy up after themselves and got to really just chat. 

“So what made you decide to go to Belmont?” Emily asked as she stood over the sink, washing the measuring cups. 

“I grew up in Franklin, so I was familiar with the area, and when I applied, I wanted to study music. My mom was a composer, see. She wrote songs for this band in the 90s, and one of them even won a grammy. I wanted to follow in her footsteps.”

“I see. That’s very sweet that you wanted to be like her. But you’re not majoring in music now?”

Julie shook her head as she swept the floor. “No, for a long time, it was too painful to even listen to music, let alone perform. So I switched to English, and now I’m minoring in music. But I actually started playing and singing again recently, so my roommates are trying to convince me to switch back. They’re both musicians too.”

“Luke is a musician. My son. That’s what we fought about so much before he left.”

Julie stopped sweeping to look over at Emily. Suddenly, she felt like an idiot. “Luke Patterson? Lead singer of Sunset Curve?” 

Emily froze for a moment before turning to look at her. “You know my son?”

Julie nodded. “Yeah, kind of. Alex and I have a couple classes together, so we’ve met. I’ve been to one of their gigs. He’s a really nice guy.”

Emily’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? Are they--are they good?” she asked hesitantly. 

Julie nodded. “They’re amazing. I can only _dream_ of being in a band that good someday. And they haven’t had their big break yet, or whatever, but I have no doubt they will.” 

Emily didn’t respond, and Julie didn’t know what else to say, so she resumed her sweeping in silence. 

“That’s good…” Emily said after a moment. 

“Does this make you feel weird about baking with me? Now that I know your son, who you don’t really speak to much?” 

Emily turned off the water and looked Julie directly in the eyes. “Not at all. I admit, it feels a bit strange, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to teach you anymore.”

“You can talk to me about him or not, it’s up to you,” Julie offered. “I won’t say anything to him you don’t want me to, if that helps.” 

The timer went off, and Emily ignored it for a moment, still looking purposefully at Julie. “You are a remarkable young lady, Julie Molina. Now, let’s pull these cookies out of the oven so they can cool and you can take them home with you.”

The remainder of Julie’s time at the Pattersons felt just a little awkward, but after Emily packed up the cookies and handed them to Julie, she pulled the girl into a hug. “This was a lot of fun,” she said softly.

“I had a lot of fun, too!” Julie agreed, squeezing the woman just a little tighter. 

When they separated, Julie had an idea. “Same time next week?” she asked. 

Emily smiled. “That sounds like a great idea. I’ll see you then.” 

* * *

A couple weeks after Julie finally sang again, she and Alex decided to spend their lunch break working on an assignment for their Musical Composition class. So they left the humanities building and headed straight for the Music building. 

“So, like, I was thinking of writing a song on guitar for this one. She said we have to go out of our comfort zones, right? Well, guitar isn’t my primary instrument, but at least I know a few chords, you know?” Julie said. 

Alex laughed. “Dude, my primary instrument is the _drums!_ I write every song out of my comfort zone. I make Luke play them for me after I’ve written them, because I can barely play guitar, and I refuse to be the guy who writes every song for the ukulele.” 

Julie laughed. “I think you could _crush it_ on the uke. She has said she’s going to make us perform an original at some point, so you may end up rocking it anyway.” 

“I’m trying to pick up enough piano that it won’t--Gaaah!” Suddenly, Alex was knocked to the ground and there was some guy laying on top of him.

“Ooooomphf. Gosh.” The stranger immediately stood up and reached for his skateboard while Julie leaned over to give Alex a hand up. “You dinged my board!” he said. 

“Um, he dinged your board?!? Excuse you! You literally ran over my friend!” Julie sassed. 

The guy looked up from his skateboard and gave them an apologetic look. “Sorry, I thought you heard me coming. And this is my favorite board.” He looked over Alex again, and clearly liked what he saw.

“That’s not an excuse to be more concerned about a piece of wood than a human being,” Julie replied, channelling her inner-Carrie. “Are you okay, Alex?” Alex nodded, dumbstruck, and Julie realized that he was clearly attracted to this guy. Suddenly, it was hard for her not to giggle. 

The stranger pulled off his helmet, letting his long brown hair fly a little wild. “Sorry Alex. I’m Willie.” He held out his hand and Alex shook it. There was an awkward silence as Alex gave Willie the once over. 

“Oh, uh, no worries. It’s fine,” he said belatedly. 

“I did sorta pancake you, huh?” Willie laughed. 

“Yeah, you did. Also, I think I know you. Are you in Stillman’s Shakespeare class on Friday nights?” Julie interrupted, trying to save Alex from saying something ridiculous. 

“That’s how I know you! You’re the girl who thinks Juliet is a badass and that it’s really her story, that she pulls all the strings.”

Julie smiled. “I know strong women when I see them.” 

“It takes one to know one, I guess,” Willie said with a grin. 

“Yeah, I mean, Julie is one, totally. She refuses to join our band even though Luke, our guitar player, is relentless in trying to convince her. Also, she’s super tough. I mean, she totally chewed you out for me cause she’s a great friend and oh my gosh I’m so sorry I’m rambling…” Alex colored, but Willie just chuckled. 

“You’re good, dude. So uh, you guys headed anywhere in particular?” 

“We’re just headed to the music building. I’m having a minor composition crisis and Julie was going to help me out.” 

“A musician, huh? What do you play?” 

“Drums. I’m a, uh. I’m a drummer…” Alex stammered a little.

“He’s also got an _amazing_ voice that his band doesn’t use _nearly_ often enough!” Julie chimed in.

“That’s pretty hot,” Willie commented, and Alex turned an even darker shade of red. 

“Well, we’ve gotta get going, but I’ll see you in class on Friday?” Julie said, tugging on Alex’s arm. 

“Yeah, see you Friday. And uh, catch you later, Alex!” And with that, Willie pulled his helmet back on and skated away. 

Julie and Alex didn’t talk until they got to their reserved practice room. When the door closed behind them, Julie squealed. “Oh my gosh! That was adorable! Also, you need to improve your flirting game!”

Alex shook his head. “I could never go out with a guy like that. Someone cool and confident and hot. I mean, he skateboards! That’s the epitome of cool!”

Julie looked at him dumbfounded for a moment. “You realize you’re the drummer of a rock band? _That’s_ the epitome of cool. Which he noticed, by the way! Also, you’re hot too!” 

“Can we just focus on this assignment? I don’t know where to go from this chord progression here. I have the C to the A minor, what should come next?” 

“Fine, I’ll let it go for now. But I’m totally sitting with him in class on Friday to find out what his deal is.” 

* * *

Friday night, Julie texted Alex from her class. 

**Julie🎼:** OK, so Willie is definitely single. 

**Alex🥁:** Please tell me you didn’t just come right out and ask. 

**Julie🎼: 🙄** Dude, I’m waaaaay more chill than Luke or Reggie. Of course not.

**Julie🎼:** In fact, he brought it up. 

**Julie🎼:** Just casually, he mentioned that his last serious relationship ended before finals last semester. That his *boyfriend* broke up with him because he “fell out of love.” 

**Alex🥁:** Please don’t embarrass me. 

**Julie🎼:** No way. I like him. I think he and I are gonna be good friends. 

**Julie🎼:** We just traded numbers. We’re gonna study together for our first test sometime next week. 

**Alex🥁:** Wait. He can’t take my place as your best friend, either. 

**Julie🎼:** Alex. Never. 😘

  
 **Julie🎼:** Just don’t tell Flynn or she’ll murder you. 😉😘


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke finds one of Julie's poems and turns it into a song. She's not happy about it until she actually hears it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!! I hope you're enjoying this story so far! I'm taking a couple of technology-free days, so don't expect an update for a bit. But don't worry, I'll be back soon! In the meantime, enjoy this (sort of short--sorry!) chapter and maybe a seasonal warm beverage!

As it turned out, Intro to Poetry wasn’t just about studying poetry, but writing it as well. And Julie and Alex each had a notebook devoted to writing. “Maybe I’ll end up writing something we can use for lyrics for a Sunset Curve song,” Alex reasoned. “It can’t hurt to keep it all together.” 

Julie’s explanation was more personal. “I bare my soul in my words. I can’t risk writing just anywhere. In high school I wrote on just about anything, post-its, the margins of my notes, the back of my homework, and I lost a lot of it. And some of it got out to people I would’ve rather not seen it. It's safer this way.” Early in their friendship, the pair had gone to the bookstore together to get a book for their class when Julie had stumbled onto the journal section and suggested they buy notebooks devoted to their poetry composition. So Alex chose a black college-ruled composition book, while Julie chose a dark purple, leather-bound sketchbook. “I like not having lines,” she explained. “It gives me more freedom.” 

“I always suspected you were a free-spirit,” Alex teased. 

About a week after they met Willie, Julie rushed out of poetry quickly, not noticing she had dropped her notebook on the floor instead of shoving it into her bag. “Ugh, class ran over, so I’m late to meet Carrie! Sorry, Alex!” she explained quickly as she packed up and ran out of the classroom. 

“Wait, Julie!” Alex called, grabbing her notebook. But Julie didn’t hear him, so he tucked it into his own backpack, figuring he would keep it safe for her until he saw her the next day. 

* * *

That afternoon at band practice, Luke was struggling to find lyrics to go with a melody he had worked out. 

“Dude, do you want to look through the stuff I’ve written for my poetry class? There’s nothing incredible, but it might jog something for you,” Alex offered. 

“Yeah, man, that’s a great idea,” Luke agreed and reached into Alex’s backpack. “Woah, what’s this?” He pulled out Julie’s purple journal. 

“Luke, that’s Julie’s, don’t look in it. It’s  _ really _ personal for her. She’ll be pissed if she finds out you read anything.” 

“Ugh, fine,” Luke agreed before accidentally dropping her journal as he went to put it back. It fell open to a well-worn page near the front, and Luke’s eyes went wide as he read it. 

“Luke, don’t!” Alex begged, while Reggie stepped over to look over his shoulder. 

“Oh my gosh, these are killer lyrics!” Luke exclaimed. “They would be  _ perfect  _ for this melody! Don’t you think, Reg?” 

“I know I’m supposed to be on Alex’s side and insist that we close her notebook, but yeah, those are amazing!” 

Luke pulled out his phone and took a picture of the page before carefully closing the notebook and putting it back in Alex’s backpack. “See? It was just one page, and I don’t think she’ll mind!” 

“You’ve gotta be the one to tell her, Luke, because I do not want to be anywhere  _ near  _ her when she finds out!” 

* * *

That afternoon, Alex received a frantic text from Julie. 

**Jules🎼:** ALEX!!! My poetry journal is missing!! Have you seen it?? 

**Alex the best drummer🥁:** Julie! Yes! I can’t believe I forgot to text you! So sorry! You left it in class this morning, I grabbed it for safe-keeping! I have it in my backpack now! 

**Jules🎼:** OMG thank goodness!!! Thank you Alex!!! You’re the BEST!!!!!!😘😘

**Alex the best drummer🥁:** Does this mean I outrank Flynn now? 

**Jules🎼:** Nice try. She was reading over my shoulder and now knows that you’re plotting a coup for first in my heart. I might watch your back if I was you 😉😘

Alex shouted at Luke from his seat at the kitchen table. “Luke, you need to tell Julie about stealing her lyrics soon!” 

“Why don’t we invite her over to come hear us play the song?” he suggested calmly. 

“I mean, I don’t want to be there, but yeah, go ahead dude.” 

Luke laughed. “I really think you’re being dramatic, Alex. But I’ll text her now.” 

**Rockstar Luke:** hey jules im working on a song i thnk ull like wanna come listen?

**Wrecking Ball Julie:** Hi Luke! Sure! What time? 

**Rockstar Luke:** in 30 mins ok? at my place?

**Wrecking Ball Julie:** Definitely! Text me the address!

  
  


30 minutes later, Julie knocked on the door of a small house in East Nashville. It was definitely not as nice a house as she and the girls lived in, but it looked super welcoming. It felt like a home.

“Jules! Come on in!” Luke opened the door and immediately pulled Julie into the house. “Welcome to the home of Sunset Curve!” 

Julie smiled and kicked off her converse. “This place is awesome!” There was a worn black leather couch and posters of classic rock bands all over the living room. 

“Thanks!” Reggie popped out of a room down a hallway right off from the living room. “We decorated ourselves!” 

Julie smiled. “So where’s Alex? And when am I gonna hear this new song?”

“Alex had to run a couple errands, but the song sounds okay without the drums for now anyway. And we’ve had enough noise complaints that it’s probably just as well he’s not here,” Reggie explained. 

“Let’s go to the garage, we can play it for you there.” Julie followed the boys into the garage off of their kitchen and sat down on a beat up grey futon that was set up there. 

Luke smiled brightly at Julie. “So, I thought of this melody a couple days ago and couldn’t figure out the right lyrics. Then, when I saw that sick poem you wrote, I knew the words were perfect for this tune!” 

Julie’s face went from excited to angry very quickly. “The poem I wrote? What--Alex. He let you go through my journal?! That was private! BOUNDARIES, LUKE!” 

Luke at least had the sense to look ashamed as he hid behind Reggie. “Julie, I know it was private, and Alex told me not to look. I wasn’t going to, I swear, but it fell open and I read it and, Julie. Your words are incredible! You have to realize how INSANELY talented you are! Your words with my melody make an  _ epic  _ song! I mean, listen: My life, my life would be real low, zero, flyin’ solo.”

Julie listened to him sing her words to a tune that she loved. She took a deep breath in and sighed, rolling her eyes. “Play it for me,” she said, still mildly annoyed but trying to be open minded. Luke and Reggie looked at each other and smiled, and Reggie sent off a quick text before grabbing his bass. 

“Alex will be here in a sec if you wanna wait,” he said with a smirk. 

“Nah, he can catch up when he gets here,” Luke said. 

“Ugh, rude!” Alex exclaimed as he walked in from the house. He looked at Julie apologetically. “I’m so sorry Luke got into your journal. I tried to stop him!”

Julie laughed. “I get it. Luke is kind of a force of nature, particularly when it comes to music.” 

“So you forgive me??” Luke asked.

“Just play,” Julie said sternly, but she knew he caught the spark of humor in her eye because he just grinned as Alex counted them in.

She listened to the first verse and the chorus and then jumped up, looking over Luke’s shoulder at his music, and sang along with them. She missed Luke’s victorious smirk directed at Reggie and Alex. He had been right. In the end, Julie didn’t really mind. 

* * *

Because she had written the poem about Flynn being there for her through her mom’s illness and death, she told the boys that they had to perform it for Flynn first. When she heard it all the way through, Flynn cheered. “That was amazing! I love it!!”

“It is a pretty great song, isn’t it?” Julie agreed.

“So, will you join our band, Julie???” Luke begged. She sighed. 

“I’m still not totally sure I’m ready for that…” Flynn gave her best friend a look. “What, Flynn?” 

“I think you’re making excuses still. You guys sound amazing together! I think you should join them. But they need a little rebranding. Sunset Curve had a slightly different vibe than this.” 

Luke, Alex, and Reggie had a silent conversation before Luke nodded. “We agree. We’ll totally rebrand if you join, Julie!” 

“Yeah, I mean, with you as our lead singer, our popularity would skyrocket!” Reggie agreed. 

“Hey! I’m a  _ great  _ lead singer!” Luke pouted. 

“Yeah, but Julie would make us UNSTOPPABLE!” Reggie replied. 

Luke shrugged. “Fine…” 

“ _ If  _ Julie’s joining the band…” Alex reminded them. 

“Please, Julie???” Reggie begged, and Luke even got down on his knees. 

“Please???” 

She laughed. “Okay, okay, I’ll join the band!” 

“You’re gonna write with us, too, yeah?” Luke asked, giving her his biggest puppy dog eyes. 

She sighed, pretending to think it over. “Well, after that song, obviously!” 

Luke, Alex, and Reggie all cheered. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flynn books the band a gig, and Willie comes with Julie to see Flynn perform and meets another band member.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hi! I hope everyone's doing okay and had a happy Christmas, if you celebrated! And if you didn't, I hope you've had a joyful winter thus far anyway! I'm so grateful for everyone who's read and commented on this! I cannot believe that there are as many of you as there are! It's super cool! I hope you enjoy this chapter!!

Luke lost no time dragging Julie to a writing session. And then another. Every moment he wasn’t at work and she wasn’t in class, he managed to pull her away to work on songs. And soon, they had enough polished songs to be able to fill a half-hour set. 

They had worked a lot with Reggie and Alex, but most of their writing time had really just been Luke and Julie alone. And Julie loved it. With Luke, she felt free to be herself and share the things she’d written. She even shared some of the things she and her mom had started before Rose’s diagnosis kept her out of the studio. And sharing her songs and her lyrics led her to sharing other parts of herself too. 

Julie and Luke talked about everything: her family; Flynn, Carrie, Alex, and Reggie; growing up in Franklin; all of her sweetest triumphs and most painful defeats. And Luke shared a lot too. It was weird hearing about Emily from his perspective, and pretty weird for him too when he found out that Julie and Emily were friends, but they got over it. After all, for Julie, her relationship with Emily felt sacred; it had been forged in tears and cookies. And Luke liked knowing that his mom was okay, that someone he was regularly in touch with knew how she was doing from week to week. 

“Julie!” Flynn sang-shouted as she waltzed through the front door of their house one Wednesday. “I have some exciting news!!” 

“Hey girl! Did that cute guy from your PR class finally ask you out?” Julie asked with a grin, pausing the episode of _The Office_ that she was watching. 

“Ugh, no. It’s better than that, my friend! YOU have a gig!” Flynn announced proudly. 

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I got you and the band a gig! I had to make up a name at the last second, so, sorry if you hate it, but you guys are performing!” 

“Have you told the boys yet??” Julie asked anxiously. “Because I  _ will not  _ go on stage in front of a bunch of strangers if they’re not gonna be there.” 

“Duh! I texted Reggie first, to make sure they were all free. And they were, so I booked it!” 

Julie squealed. “I can’t believe we have a gig!!!!” 

“I know!!! You guys are gonna be  _ awesome!!! _ ” Flynn agreed, grabbing Julie’s hands and jumping around with her like they had when they were little girls. 

“Wait, what band name did you give us?” Julie asked when their mini celebration subsided. 

“Well, since you’re the new lead singer, you guys are ‘Julie and the Phantoms!’ It was a stroke of genius, I know.” 

Julie laughed. “I’m not sure how the boys will feel about that, but I love it!” 

Flynn gave her best friend a knowing look. “They won’t care at  _ all  _ when they’re crushing it on stage with you as their lead singer!”

* * *

And of course, Flynn was right. They boys had no reservations about the name she gave them. They were just excited to debut their new music at this club they were performing at. And it helped that Dirty Candy was performing there as well. 

The event was a talent showcase. It was the weekend after next, so “Julie and the Phantoms” had plenty of time to prepare their fifteen minute set. Naturally, the day after Flynn confirmed their participation, Luke insisted on an emergency band meeting where they practiced every song in their repertoire twice. Eventually, Reggie had to get to work and Alex needed to finish an assignment, so it was just Luke and Julie left. 

“So, what do you think about us starting with ‘Bright?’” Luke asked, taking a seat on the piano bench next to Julie. 

Julie nodded. “Yeah, I think it’s a good move. Then we hit them with ‘Flying Solo’ and end with… what do you think? Maybe ‘Home Is Where My Horse Is?’” she joked, winking at her bandmate. 

“Julie! This is serious! It’s our first gig together!” Luke said, flustered.

“I’m just messing with you, Luke.” Julie bumped his shoulder with hers. “Of course this is serious, but you also need to loosen up. We’re gonna have a lot of gigs. Don’t let this one consume you. We should obviously end with ‘Edge of Great.’ It’s an  _ anthem,  _ and the perfect way to close.”

Luke inhaled deeply. “You’re right, I know I’m being a little intense right now…” 

Julie’s eyebrows shot up. “A  _ little? _ Luke, you’re more tightly wound about this than Alex is about  _ anything!”  _

Luke let out a nervous chuckle and looked down at the keys of the piano. “I just--I want you to know that this band is important. This gig is especially important because you’re part of the band now.”

Julie smiled softly at him. “I know. Don’t worry.” He looked up at her and grinned. Julie’s heart skipped a beat when his eyes met hers, and she lost herself for a second. She realized what was happening and blinked, laughing a little breathlessly. “So, uh, I was thinking of inviting Willie, that guy Alex likes, to the show. What do you think? You know him better than I do; will Alex appreciate the gesture or totally flip out on me?” 

Luke laughed. “Dude, definitely invite him! Alex is  _ totally  _ hot banging on those drums.” Julie looked surprised at his statement. Luke shrugged casually. “I don’t have to be gay to know when my best friend is objectively at his hottest.” 

Julie laughed. “Okay Rockstar. Whatever you say. Now, the real question, do I tell Alex beforehand?” 

“Definitely not. He’ll just get  _ way  _ more nervous than he already is.” 

“Understood,” Julie nodded and then closed the piano. “So, I actually have some homework to do for my composition class. Do you mind if I head in and start working on it?” 

“Jules, are you writing without me??” Luke asked, pouting jokingly. 

“I have to, it’s an assignment!” Julie replied. “I have to write a song to perform for the class. And no, you can’t show up and play with me. I have to do this without any help from you at all.”

“Well, at least you know you can do it! Alex had never written a song on his own before he started that class, so he was pretty anxious about it.”

Julie smiled. “Yeah, I know. We work on stuff for that class together. You know, work out melodies, bounce lyrics off of each other. We’ve had to do breathing exercises a few times, a couple of grounding exercises. I’m quite familiar. But he’s actually a good writer. And he’s got a great voice. We don’t use his and Reggie’s vocals often enough! I mean, they’re both talented singers!” 

Luke grinned as Julie’s voice became more enthusiastic as she talked about the band. “I’m glad you’ve got Alex’s back. He and Reggie are my family, even more so now that Bobby left us high and dry.” Luke scowled for a moment. “Anyway, Alex needs people in his life who are good to him. I mean, they both do, but Reggie doesn’t have anxiety, not like Alex. So, anyway, the point is, I’m glad you guys became friends.”

Julie nodded. “Yeah, me too. I needed him, and the rest of you guys too, I just didn’t know it.” 

Luke looked like he was about to say something, but at that exact moment Carrie walked out into the garage-studio. “Hey Julie, we’re ordering from that Ethiopian place you love. Do you want anything? Oh, Luke, didn’t realize you were still here. Are you sticking around for dinner?”

Luke smiled as he shook his head. “Nah, Julie’s got some homework to do, so I’m heading home.” He shoved his songbook into his backpack and packed up his guitar. “I’ll see you later, yeah?” he said a bit more softly to Julie. 

She nodded. “See you later, Luke,” she agreed, matching his tone. He waved as he walked out the side door, and Julie grabbed her own notebook and followed Carrie into the house. Flynn was sitting on the couch, flipping through Netflix. 

“Flynn, you were right,” Carrie said as she flopped onto the couch beside her. 

“Flynn was right about what?” Julie asked, confused. Her two roommates met each other’s eyes and started cackling. “Seriously, what are you two talking about?”

“How’s  _ Luke _ ?” Flynn asked, putting extra emphasis on the guitar player’s name. 

“He’s good. Excited about the showcase. He wants everything to be perfect.” Julie shrugged. “He really cares about music and the band.”

“That’s not all he cares about!” Carrie added in a sing-song voice. 

“What are you talking about?” Julie repeated, starting to feel a little frustrated. 

“My girl has a crush, and his name is Luke!” Flynn announced. 

“What?” Julie scoffed. “No I don’t. We’re just bandmates. Writing partners. Friends.”

“No,  _ we’re  _ just friends. You and Luke have  _ chemistry.  _ You talk about him all the time, and you’re constantly making googly eyes at each other.”

“It’s true!” Carrie agreed with a smug grin. “I wasn’t totally sure before today, but there were some  _ major  _ heart-eyes going on in that garage, babe. You can’t deny it!”

“I can, because it’s not true! Luke and I are really just friends!” Julie insisted. 

Carrie and Flynn looked at each other again and apparently came to some sort of agreement. “Okay sweetie, but know that you’re allowed to have feelings for the guy,” Carrie finally replied.

Julie rolled her eyes. “Can we just order dinner? I’m hungry, and I haven’t come up with lyrics for this melody I’m working on for comp yet.” 

* * *

That night, Julie’s melody came to life in her dream, complete with lyrics and an attractive, brown-eyed bandmate to sweep her off her feet. She dreamed they danced together and sang her song as a gorgeous duet. When she woke up, she groaned. 

**Julie 🌻:** Damn it. You guys were right.

**Carrie 🍬:** Duh.

**Carrie 🍬:** Right about what exactly? 

**Julie 🌻:** 🎸🎤😍

**Flynntastic 🎺:** I KNEW IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

* * *

Friday night, Flynn was playing in a trio at this jazz club she loved. Carrie was busy rehearsing with Dirty Candy for the showcase, so Julie promised she’d come as soon as she got out of her Shakespeare class. As she was packing up her stuff, Willie looked over to her. “What’s the rush? Got a hot date tonight?” he joked. 

Julie laughed. “What’s that?” she responded in kind. “No, I’m actually heading over to this club, The Brass Lounge, for my roommate. She’s a jazz musician and she’s playing in a trio there in like, ten minutes. I told her I’d come even if I was late, but I’m trying not to be since Dr. Stillman let us out early.” 

“Cool, jazz is awesome! My mom used to listen to jazz all the time while she worked. She used to be an artist.” Willie shared. 

“Do you want to tag along? I’d love the company, since I won’t know anyone else there,” Julie offered. 

“Yeah, sure, that sounds great!” Willie agreed, smiling widely. He finished packing his bag and stood up. “Let’s go!”

“Great, I’m parked in the garage right over there, so we don’t have too far to walk.” She stood up too, slung her backpack over her shoulder and started speed walking to the exit. 

“So you’re studying psychology, right?” Julie asked as she led the way to her car. 

“Yeah, psych major, art minor. I want to be a therapist.”

“How’d you decide that?” 

“Well, I experienced some trauma in high school and ended up in a therapist's office. I got hit by a car while skating when I was fifteen, and for a long time I was afraid to even look at a car, let alone get in one and drive. Dr. Duong helped me get past it, and even helped me get back on my board. I owe her a lot, and I figured, maybe one day I can help someone else the way she helped me.”

“Willie, that’s an amazing tribute to her. Does she know that she influenced your life so much?” 

He smiled. “Yeah. I stop by and see her every time I make it home.”

“That’s great. I love my therapist, but I could never do what she does,” Julie commented. “Here’s my car! It’s the grey Civic with that long scratch.”

“So where are we headed?” Willie asked. “I can GPS it if you don’t know how to get there.” 

“That would be great, thanks! It’s called The Brass Lounge, and it’s on Church Street.”

“Found it! It’s a five minute drive away!”

“Perfect, let’s go!”

They made it to the club with a minute to spare, even though they had to park down the street and walk. “Thank goodness, I’m not gonna miss anything!” Julie said as she pulled open the door. “Woah. Reggie?” Sitting at a table alone near the center of the room was her leather-and-plaid-clad bandmate. “Willie, my friend Reggie is here. Let’s go talk to him!” So she grabbed Willie’s arm and pulled him across the club to Reggie’s table. “Reg, what are you doing here?” she asked. 

“I’m here to see Flynn! You know I love jazz almost as much as I love country, and when she told me she was playing, I had to be here! See her in her element, you know?” 

Julie nodded. “Totally. Can we sit with you?” 

“Definitely. Uh, I’m Reggie.” The bassist held out his hand to Willie. 

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. Reggie, this is Willie. He’s in my Shakespeare class.” Julie tried to infuse as much “please be chill,” into her tone as possible, but Reggie clearly missed it. 

“Oh.  _ Willie! _ ” Reggie said with a knowing smirk. 

Willie nodded, a hint of confusion crossing his face as he shook Reggie’s hand. “Yeah, it’s nice to meet you, dude.” 

“So Willie, you’re a student at Belmont?” 

“Yeah, Julie and I are in a Shakespeare class together.”

“And what are you studying?” 

“Reg, maybe don’t ask so many questions while Flynn is playing?” Julie asked pointedly. She did  _ not  _ want it to get back to Alex that Reggie had grilled Willie. 

“Oh, right!” Reggie immediately turned his attention back to the stage, where Flynn was killing it. But after a moment, when the saxophone player had a solo moment, he turned his eye back to Willie. “Sorry, what were you studying again?” 

“Psychology. I want to be a therapist.”

“Very interesting. And are you into music?” 

“Yeah, I mean, I came tonight because I really like jazz, and Julie invited me.”

“How do you feel about rock? Maybe even pop-rock?” Reggie continued to question the poor guy. 

“Sure, I mean, I’m not crazy-obsessed with music, but I like a variety of sounds, including rock and pop-rock.”

“You know Julie and I are in a band?”

“Yeah, she told me… I hear you guys are pretty good.”

“Yeah, actually, I was going to invite Willie to our performance next Saturday. I thought he might have fun. Like we are  _ right now, _ just  _ being chill _ and  _ listening to great music _ .” Julie tried to hint, but Reggie was not getting it. 

“Oh, that sounds great! Text me the details?” Willie asked, all while meeting Julie’s eye and asking a non-verbal question. 

Reggie got distracted by an impressive trill by one of the musicians, and Julie silently sighed with relief. “Definitely. In fact, I’ll do that now.” She picked up her phone and immediately started texting. 

**Julie:** I’m so sorry about this. 🤦🏾‍♀️

**Willie:** he does know im gay, right?

**Julie:** Yes. That’s not what this is, I promise. I’m so sorry. Reggie is just… well, he’s just Reggie. 

**Willie:** as long as he doesnt think im gonna break ur heart or whatever 

**Willie:** i mean, i like you, but not like that. 

**Julie:** lol no, same. You’re not my type. Reggie’s just protective of his friends. 

**Willie:** are your bandmates your type?

Julie read Willie’s text and turned bright red. Her eyes went big, and she didn’t know what to say. Willie chuckled.

**Willie:** like, is he jealous?

**Julie:** omg no, Reg isn’t jealous. I promise I’ll explain on the drive home. Until then, I’m sorry for everything. 

**Willie:** no worries. 

When Willie went to get a drink a few minutes later, Julie kicked Reggie under the table. “What the heck was that, Reggie??” she hissed. 

“That’s Willie, right? The skateboarder Alex is not-so-secretly into?”

“Yes, and you don’t want to scare him off! He doesn’t realize that you know Alex, and I’m pretty sure Alex wouldn’t like knowing that you  _ grilled _ him!” 

“I guess you’re right.” Reggie sighed, but then perked up after a moment. “But hey, nice move inviting him to the gig. Alex is  _ super hot  _ when he’s playing. It’s like, his most attractive activity.” 

Julie laughed. “Luke literally said the same thing. Also, you can’t tell Alex I invited him.”

“Well obviously. We don’t want him to panic right before our first show as your Phantoms!” Reggie grinned. 

“Thank you! Now please just be chill for the rest of the night!” Julie begged. 

“Only for you, Julie! Oh my gosh, Flynn is incredible!” Reggie exclaimed, quickly turning his attention back to the performance. 

“Yeah she is! Did you hear that? She held that note for like, twelve counts!”

“Damn, she’s impressive!” 

“Yeah she is!” When the song ended, Julie and Reggie clapped enthusiastically and waved at Flynn. She gave them a small wave in return before putting her trumpet back to her lips and starting again. 

* * *

On the drive back to campus, Julie tried to explain Reggie to Willie without saying anything about Alex. 

“So, Reggie. I feel the need to preface everything I’m going to say with ‘Reggie's a little questionable.’ Because he is. You can never quite tell what’s going on in his head. But here’s what I think happened. I’ve talked about you a little bit, mostly about how we study together. And Reggie is super protective. So I say I’m studying with you, and he hears, ‘this is a person who someone I care about is investing time and emotional energy into,’ and his natural reaction is to check up on you. So, you can bet you’ve already been stalked online, and now you’ve been grilled a little too. And I’m really sorry about it! If I could stop it I would!” 

Willie laughed. “Don’t be sorry. It’s sweet of him to look out for you like that. And I promise I’m not trying to hurt you in any way!” he assured her. 

“Willie, I know! No worries! You’re great!”

“So…” Willie began. 

“So?” 

“Can I ask if you’re into Reggie? Like is there something between you?” 

Julie laughed. “Oh my gosh no! Reggie is like an older brother. Except he’s actually like, two months younger.” She rolled her eyes fondly. “He doesn’t have any siblings, but always wanted a little sister, so he’s claimed me since I’m shorter than him.” 

“So what was with your reaction to my question about your bandmates being your type?” 

Julie chuckled nervously. “Oh, it was… you just caught me off guard is all.”

Willie snickered. “Yeah, you’re a terrible liar, Julie. So are you into someone else in your band?” 

Julie felt her cheeks flush. “I might be…” she admitted. 

“Well, if you like a guy, you should tell him. Be straightforward. Guys like that. Well, gay guys like that. I assume straight guys do too.” 

“It’s more complicated than that, and you know it. The band means so much to all of us. I’m not ready to risk that, especially since I don’t think he likes me back.”

“Well, you’ll never know if you don’t try!” Willie responded before turning up the radio and jamming. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie and the Phantoms has their first gig!!

On Sunday afternoon, Julie found herself once again at the Patterson house learning to bake. 

“This week, I thought we could make cupcakes! What do you think?” Emily asked as Julie pulled on her usual apron.

“That sounds great! I love cupcakes!”

“Wonderful! I have this favorite orange-cardamom cupcake recipe that I make every fall, and since the leaves are finally changing and the weather is turning, it feels like the right recipe!”

“Ooh, those sound delicious!” 

They immediately dove into the recipe, and then while they waited for the cupcakes to cool so they could be frosted, Emily asked a question. “Julie, you know you don’t have to wear the same apron every time you come. I don’t mind, of course, but I want you to feel comfortable to change things up! I want you to feel at peace in my home!”

“I do, I promise!” Julie assured her. “I love being here; you always make me feel welcome.”

“So the apron?” Emily prodded. 

Julie shrugged. “Dahlias were my mom’s favorite flowers. When you handed me this apron a month ago without even realizing, I don’t know. It felt like a sign. Like it was okay with her.” Emily’s face showed that she didn’t understand. “I felt a little guilty at first, like I was cheating on her with a different mom.” 

“Oh Julie.” Tears formed quickly in the corners of Emily’s eyes. “I’m sorry sweetheart. I’m not trying to take your mother’s place, although I will admit that I enjoy having you around. You fit here, somehow. Like if I was going to have a daughter, she would have been like you.” 

Julie smiled. “That’s the highest compliment I can think of. Thank you, Emily.” The women’s tears fell down their cheeks as they embraced. 

Mitch walked into the kitchen while they were still hugging. “Is everything okay?” he asked. 

“Yes, honey, we were just talking about Julie’s mother,” Emily explained. 

Mitch nodded and gave a genuinely sad smile. “I’m sorry for your loss, Julie.”

“Thank you,” she said as she wiped her eyes. 

“Here,” Mitch pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her. 

Julie chuckled a little as she accepted it. “Only real gentlemen carry handkerchiefs to lend to damsels in distress.” 

Mitch chuckled. “Well, I’ve always been a little old-fashioned, I guess.”

“And I love that,” Julie assured him, pulling him into a quick hug, too. “I’m so grateful to both of you. You do make me feel very welcome in your home.” 

“Well, we enjoy having you, dear,” Emily responded. 

“Indeed we do. I’m going to go mow the lawn, now, ladies. If you need anything.” 

“Thank you, honey!” 

After Mitch was gone and Julie and Emily were piping frosting, Julie decided to break some news to her hostess. 

“So, can I tell you something?” Julie asked. 

“Of course, dear. You can tell me anything.”

“I joined Luke’s band a few weeks ago, and we have our first gig next weekend.”

“Oh.”

“I know I told you we didn’t have to talk about Luke, and we really don’t, I just wanted you to know.” 

“Well thank you, Julie. I appreciate your candor.”

Julie nodded and then changed the subject. “So my brother Carlos has a cross country meet on Tuesday. It’s regionals, and he thinks he has a chance at going to State. I didn’t even know Cross Country  _ had _ a State Championship.”

* * *

Luke insisted on getting a practice in the night before their show, even though Julie had class. So he and the guys gathered in their garage to work. “Alright guys, let’s go! Alex, count us in!” 

Alex counted them in and then started drumming, getting progressively faster and faster. He was clearly not paying attention to what was going on. 

Luke and Reggie made eye contact and stopped playing, but Alex just kept going. Finally, Luke walked over to him. 

“You okay dude?” 

“I saw Willie today. He barely remembered me.” Alex huffed. “I know I shouldn’t care, I mean, we’ve only met a couple of times, but I thought we were sort of friends at least. I mean, he’s friends with Julie. And the three of us studied together for like, an hour last week.”

Reggie scowled for a moment. “Dude, that sucks, I’m sorry.”

“Alex, you’re a great drummer and a great guy. I wouldn’t let some guy get in between you and what you love. And dude, you  _ love  _ music.”

Alex nodded, but Reggie just grinned a little. 

“I don’t know, man. Sometimes a little fire can make things better on stage,” Reggie commented. “Like you and Julie.” 

Alex smirked as Luke looked between them with a bad attempt at a confused facial expression. “I--uh--what is that supposed to mean?” 

Alex chuckled while Reggie responded. “Come on,  _ everyone  _ can see the way you look at her when you sing. You guys  _ ooze  _ chemistry.” 

“You should never say ‘ooze’ again, but yeah, I agree,’ Alex affirmed, standing up from the drumset. 

Luke pulled his guitar strap over his head. “I have chemistry with everybody that I sing with.” He thought he was convincing until he saw the knowing glances exchanged between his best friends. “Seriously, watch!” Then, he started singing and stepped closer and closer to Reggie, definitely invading his bubble. He low-key felt weird about it, but he  _ had  _ to convince them (although he wasn’t totally sure why…) “I believe, I believe that we’re just one dream away from who we’re meant to be, that we’re standing on the edge of great.” 

“Wow, I see chemistry,” Alex quipped. 

“Th-that was pretty hot,” Reggie admitted, and Luke grabbed his buddy’s face with both hands for a moment, as though he was going to kiss him, and then turned and walked away. “Girls, am I right?” Reggie said, trying to get rid of whatever weird tension there was. 

“Yeah,” Luke said, overly calmly as he picked his guitar back up. 

“No,” Alex countered as he returned to sitting at the drums. “Let’s start again. One two three four.”

And suddenly the boys were playing ‘Edge of Great’ again. But Luke couldn’t get his friends’ insinuation out of his head. Eventually, he decided internally, ‘ _ They’re just being dumb. The chemistry is from the music. That’s it. _ ’ And he let it go. 

* * *

The week flew by for Julie, and before she knew it, she was getting ready for her first gig with her new band. “Wear the white dress. And let Flynn do your hair. She always does it tighter than you, which is good if you’re gonna dance around stage like you do in rehearsal,” Carrie advised. 

“Oh my gosh, you are my savior!” Julie replied. “I had no idea what to wear!!” 

“What are best friends for?” Carrie asked with a smile. 

“Is this a mistake?” Julie asked as she pulled off her t-shirt. 

Carrie gave her an ‘are-you-serious’ look. “I’m assuming you’re  _ not  _ talking about the dress.” 

“I just… am I really ready for this?” Julie asked as she pulled a white dress with embroidered pink and blue and purple butterflies over her head. 

“Of course you are. Not being sure is not the same as not being ready.” Carrie walked up behind her and zipped the dress up. 

“She’s right, you know,” Flynn said, walking into Julie’s room and flopping on her bed. “I know it’s scary to get back out there with music, and then on top of that to perform for a crowd, but you’re ready.” Julie took a deep breath and nodded. “Plus, I just bought a bunch of super cute butterfly clips for your hair and grabbed  _ this  _ from your dad’s house.” Flynn held out a silver pin in the shape of a dahlia. 

“Mom’s pin,” Julie whispered, taking it gingerly from her friend’s palm. 

“Ray said he thought Rose would want you to have it. Like having a piece of her on stage with you.” Flynn explained. 

“Thank you both. I couldn’t do this without you.”

“Yeah you could,” Carrie replied. “But you won’t have to.” 

“For real. We’ll be with you every step of the way,” Flynn promised.

“Maybe one day if you’re good enough, Dirty Candy might even be willing to collaborate with you guys,” Carrie joked. It was the perfect thing to off-set the more serious mood. “Now you work on your makeup while Flynn takes care of your hair. I’ve gotta go get ready.” 

As the girls pulled out of the driveway in Carrie’s BMW, Julie got a text.

**Emily Patterson:** Good luck tonight Julie! I hope you and the boys do really well!!

**Julie Molina:** Thank you!! 💖💖

* * *

Dirty Candy went on right before Julie and the Phantoms, which somehow put Julie at ease. She knew Carrie was amazingly talented, but rather than intimidating her, like it had when they were kids, it inspired her to do her best. 

And when it was their time to go on stage, Julie was ready. 

“Hi, we’re Julie and the Phantoms,” she said into the microphone awkwardly. Then the boys joined her on stage, and Luke brushed her shoulder with his hand as he walked past her. She smiled at him and watched as the boys readied themselves, before beginning to play. 

“Sometimes I think I’m falling down

I wanna cry, I’m calling out

For one more try, to feel alive…” 

She started the song alone, but when the rest of the band came in, it was like nothing else mattered except her music. She got up from her seat at the piano and danced with Reggie, with Alex, with Luke. When Luke took the second verse, Julie took a moment to turn and face Alex completely, rocking out with him. 

And then she was supposed to come in with Luke, so she pivoted and there he was, ready to lean into her mic with her. They sang together into her mic, and it was like nothing else. Her stomach flipped, but she ignored it and focused on the music. It was so fun to jam up there with her guys. And the crowd was clearly loving it. She saw Carrie and the other girls from Dirty Candy in the front row, Carrie giving her a big smile of approval. 

Between the first and second songs, Luke said something to the crowd while Julie moved back to her piano and prepared for the intro to ‘Flying Solo.’ It was a little tricky, and she didn’t want to mess up. He gave her a thumbs up, and she leaned forward into her mic. “This song is for my best girls, Flynn and Carrie. I wouldn’t be here without you!” 

Carrie blew her a kiss and Flynn cheered from backstage, and then Julie began. 

“If I leave you on a bad note, leave you on a sad note

Guess it means I’m buying lunch that day.

I know all your secrets, you know all my deep-dish,

Guess that means some things they never, they never change

We both know what I, what I, what I mean

When I look at you it’s like I’m looking at me.”

Julie danced around the stage, but especially looking for Carrie and Flynn. While they were singing, though, she spotted Willie walking through the doors. She smiled at him even while singing, and she knew he saw her because he waved. 

“Yeah, you know who I’m liking way before I like them,

Duh, cause you liked them first.

And if somebody hurts you I’m gonna get hurt too

That’s just how we work, yeah that’s just how we work.”

When she sang the first line of the second verse, she couldn’t help but glance at Flynn, who smirked at her from backstage. She blushed and looked to Carrie, who was actually laughing at her. Julie avoided Luke the rest of the song, which wasn’t hard to do; she just focused on the crowd more than the boys. But then came their final number. 

“Running from the past, tripping on the now, 

What is lost can be found, it’s obvious.

And like a rubber ball, we come bouncing back

We’ve all got a second act inside of us.

I believe, I believe that we’re just one dream

Away from who we’re meant to be

That we’re standing on the edge of great.”

It was hard to avoid Luke and the guys with this one. She and Luke had spent several days alone together writing it, and it was one of her favorites to dance with him. But she couldn’t bring herself to. She didn’t want him to realize she liked him and have things get weird. So she danced with Reggie and Alex, but steered clear of Luke, which was a bit difficult since she was in the middle of the stage. She was glad when Reggie hopped over to sing with him, but based on Carrie’s face, it was pretty obvious what she was doing. 

When she got to the first part of the post-bridge chorus, it was supposed to be quieter, to build the intensity of the end. But then Luke started riffing and he came up behind her. Julie couldn’t help but look into his eyes as she sang, and he smiled widely at her. She held eye contact with him until she knew he was supposed to be back at his mic, so she turned to face the crowd as a way to gently send him back. It worked. 

But on the last lines of the song, the boys were supposed to stop playing and singing completely, and instead, Luke followed her over to the piano and sat down with her, singing into her mic with her and holding her gaze. They stared into each other’s eyes until the crowd started clapping and cheering, and then Julie laughed and said, a little breathlessly, “We’re Julie and the Phantoms, tell your friends!” 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the performance, the band inducts Julie into their favorite post-gig tradition

After taking in the applause from the crowd, Julie and the boys exited stage left, where Flynn was waiting for them. “YOU GUYS WERE AMAZING!” she squealed, grabbing Julie and spinning her around. 

“Thanks for pushing me into this, Flynn! And for helping me not totally freak out this afternoon!” 

“Dude, that was epic!! We were  _ way  _ better as Julie and the Phantoms than we ever were with Bobby!!” Luke exclaimed, clearly still on a performance high. 

“Uh, was Willie here tonight? I thought I saw him sneak in during ‘Flying Solo.’”

“That girl from Carrie’s band was totally checking me out!” 

“Guys!! We just did that! And we crushed it!!” Luke exclaimed again! 

“Yeah we did!!” Julie pulled the guys into a band (plus Flynn) hug. 

“Ew, I love you guys, but you’re all sweaty, so let me go!” Flynn demanded. “Besides Julie, Ray, Carlos, and Tia are all here, and I know they want to see you.”

“Oh yeah! And I want to see Carrie and Willie, too!” 

“So Willie  _ is _ here?!” Alex persisted, grabbing Julie’s arm as the others headed out from backstage to the floor of the club. “Did you invite him?” 

Julie nodded. “Are you mad at me?” she asked, scrunching her face up. 

Alex paused for a moment, evaluating. “I should be, but I guess not.”

“Good, cause you were on FIRE up there! Luke and Reg are right, you’re definitely at your hottest when you’re wailing on the drums.” 

“Um, you’ve discussed this?” Alex asked, affronted. 

“I mean, Carrie’s hottest is when she’s working the sound board--girl is a  _ pro _ . And Flynn’s is either when she’s styling someone or rapping,” Julie shrugged. “It’s a thing people know about their best friends.” 

“Well, it doesn’t matter, because Willie barely knows who I am,” Alex said, ignoring Julie’s comment. 

“Okay, I know that’s not true. Why do you think that?”

“Because we ran into each other in the Thompson building and dude didn’t recognize me!” 

Julie scrunched her forehead. “That seems weird. We’ve hung out together, the three of us.”

“We studied together once.”

“Still… I’m sorry, Alex. If I’d known I wouldn’t have invited him.” 

Alex shrugged and twirled a drumstick in his fingers. “It’s whatever. Look, you go see your family and Willie and whoever else, Luke, Reg, and I are gonna hang over with the other bands over near the stage, chat, talk some shop, and maybe a scout will show some interest. And don’t forget about our tradition!”

Julie nodded. “Okay. I’ll be back in a few minutes to hang with you guys.” 

“No rush, we’re old pros at this,” Alex said with a faint grin as they followed the others out onto the floor.

“I’ll see you in a minute!” Julie promised as she started weaving through the crowd.

“Cool, we’ll be over there!”

* * *

“Dad! Tia! Carlos!” Julie finally found her family in a booth near the back of the club. “What did you think?” 

“You were wonderful, mija! And the crowd seemed to love you!” Ray said as he stood up to pull his daughter into a hug. 

“You looked and sounded incredible Julie! I just have the most talented niece around, apparently!” Tia agreed.

“Thanks, guys! I’m so glad you were here!”

“Yeah, you were okay. Dirty Candy did great though,” Carlos said. Julie hit him gently on the back of the head. 

“I saw you jamming to ‘Edge of Great,’ Carlos, you can’t hide from the girl on stage!” she laughed. “But yeah, Dirty Candy was amazing!” 

“Hey Julie!” Julie turned around to see Willie standing there, looking as laid-back as ever in grey shorts and a green t-shirt with a skateboard company’s logo. His hair was pulled back into a messy bun. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” he apologized when he saw that she was talking to a few people. 

“No, you’re good. Willie, this is my dad Ray, my aunt Victoria, and my little brother Carlos. Guys, this is Willie, a friend from my Shakespeare class.” 

Ray held out his hand to Willie. “It’s nice to meet you, Willie. Julie has said some very nice things about you.”

Willie smiled. “She talks about you guys all the time too. She’s lucky to have such a great family.” 

“Yeah, they’re the best,” Julie agreed. “I’m glad you came tonight!” 

“Me too! You guys were awesome!”

“Thanks!” Julie turned to her family. “Do you guys mind if I go find the band? I guess the guys have some after-show tradition that they want to initiate me into.”

“Go on, mija! We’ll see you tomorrow for lunch?” 

“Of course! Thanks again for coming! I love you guys!”

Julie started weaving through the crowd, and Willie followed close behind her. 

“Jules, why didn’t you tell me Alex is in your band? I would have worn something a little nicer than this!” 

Julie stopped in her tracks and he nearly ran into her. She turned to him accusingly. “According to Alex, you don’t even know who he is. Would you care to explain?” 

“Oh…” Willie looked a little sheepish. “I was trying to be chill, ya know? So I may’ve acted like I couldn’t quite remember his name? When we saw each other yesterday?” Julie gave him an unimpressed face. “I know! I panicked. Which is not like me…” 

Julie rolled her eyes and mumbled something under her breath that sounded vaguely like, “ridiculous,” and then kept moving. “Well do me a favor and make sure you know his name when we go talk to the band right now.” 

“Well duh! He was awesome!”

“Of course he was! I have very discerning taste in bandmates!” Julie laughed as they walked up to the guys who were chatting with the girls from Dirty Candy. 

“Julie! That was amazing!!” Carrie gushed as she pulled her bestie into a hug. 

“Thanks Carrie! You guys were phenomenal too!!” Julie echoed. 

“Who’s this?” Carrie asked abruptly, retreating from their hug. 

“Carrie, this is my friend Willie. Willie, this is Carrie, one of my roommates and the frontwoman of Dirty Candy.”

“Hey Carrie, nice to meet you. I missed your set, but your costumes are epic, so I know you guys were great!” 

Carrie smiled. “Thanks, this is Kayla, Jasmine, Ellie, and Grace.”

“Nice to meet you girls,” Willie acknowledged, and then turned to the boys. “Hey Alex, Reggie. You guys were great!” Then he held out his hand to Luke. “Hey dude, you must be Luke. I’m Willie.” 

“Willie, huh?” Luke didn’t smile at all as he shook the proffered hand, and Julie was pretty sure he was trying to crush it. 

“Willie’s in my Shakespeare class. We’ve become pretty good friends,” Julie said, trying to lighten the mood. When Luke still hadn’t released his hand, she grabbed their joined hands. “As cute as it is to see you trying to hold Willie’s hand, Luke, you maybe should get to know him first.” 

Reggie and Alex laughed, and Luke’s scowl lightened up. Flynn waltzed over to them from the other side of the table. “Willie! Good to see you!! What’d you think of Julie and the Phantoms? My girl has got an  _ amazing  _ voice, don’t you think?”

“Hey Flynn!” Willie grinned as she pulled him into a hug. “Yeah, Julie’s great. All of you guys are super talented!” He looked at Alex as he said it, and Alex blushed. Reggie smirked. 

“Well, as fun as this is, we have a tradition to uphold!” Luke announced. “Reggie, Alex, Julie, let’s go!” 

“Luke, can’t we hang out a little longer?” Reggie asked, pulling a face at his bandmate and subtly nodding to Kayla from Dirty Candy. 

Luke rolled his eyes. “Fine. I guess a few more minutes can’t hurt.” Reggie’s face instantly brightened and he turned his attention back to Kayla. 

“So I actually have some questions about this tradition?” Julie asked. “No one will tell me what it is.”

“It’s a secret ritual, Jules! You can’t know until you’ve been initiated!”

“Yeah Julie! Go along with it! Dirty Candy has one!” Carrie added. “I mean, ours is  _ way  _ cooler, but--” 

“Carrie!” Luke interrupted. 

“Oops, sorry Luke. You shouldn’t tell Flynn secrets. She spills everything to me!”

Julie turned to Carrie. “You know?” She looked back at Luke. “Luke, why does she get to know?” 

Luke rubbed his neck. “I needed some help from Flynn. To make sure you’d be okay. And apparently she can’t keep secrets from Carrie.” He rolled his eyes. “That would have been good information to have earlier.” 

“Well can I know now?”

“No! It’s a rule!” 

“Ugh, fine!” 

Carrie turned to her girls. “Ladies, we should probably get going. We have a club to hit, and the boys have some things of their own to do!” She turned back to Julie. “Have fun, text me or Flynn if you need anything, okay? And we’ll see you later.” 

* * *

The guys and Julie piled into Reggie’s van after a quick goodbye to Flynn and Willie, and Julie asked again. “Okay. Where are we going?” 

“Well first, we go home to change,” Reggie explained from the driver’s seat. 

Luke passed a sparkly duffle bag over the seat to Julie. “Flynn packed you a bag.”

“Oh thank goodness you had enough sense to ask Flynn and not Carrie,” Julie sighed as she dug through the bag. “Flynn believes in style, but she also believes in comfort.”

“Yeah, you’re definitely going to want to be comfortable.”

“Okay, what happens after we change? Should I be nervous?” 

Luke laughed. “You’ll find out when we get there!” 

* * *

When they got to the boys’ house, Julie changed and washed off her makeup quickly (Thank goodness for makeup wipes and Flynn’s forethought to pack them!). When she emerged from the bathroom in a tank top and leggings, Luke shook his head. “She forgot a hoodie. Here, borrow one of mine, you’ll get cold.” Luke ran back to his room and grabbed a dark blue hoodie and tossed it to Julie. She pulled it on and was instantly surrounded by the smell of Luke. She inhaled deeply as she followed the boys out to the car. 

All four of them piled back into Reggie’s van and they started driving. “Okay, where are we going?” 

“The park!” Reggie announced excitedly. 

“We have ice cream, a projector, a sheet, and my laptop,” Alex explained. “We have a movie night in this small park in Brentwood.”

“We also have popcorn, we’re just excited because Bobby was lactose intolerant, so he made a fuss about only bringing snacks everyone can enjoy.” Luke said with a hint of disgust. “But thanks to Flynn, we know your favorite ice cream flavor, which is luckily compatible with everyone else’s.” 

“Seriously? You had to keep ‘band movie night’ a secret from me?” Julie asked, trying to be annoyed and failing. 

“You know you love us!” Luke responded teasingly, and Julie couldn’t help but grin. 

“So do we watch the same movie every time?” 

“Not anymore!” 

“And thank goodness for that! I was really over  _ Sid and Nancy,”  _ Reggie said in disgust. 

“Yeah, same. I’m glad to change things up, finally!” Alex agreed. 

“So what are we watching?” 

“Well, the rule has always been that we watch a musical or a movie where the music is prominently featured. So tonight we have three options:  _ A Star is Born, Baby Driver, _ and  _ That Thing You Do!”  _

“I would ask which  _ Star is Born  _ except I love them all! Those are three great picks, guys!”

“Oh good! They were Alex’s suggestions!” Luke said.

Julie gave Alex a high five. “Alex, you have superb taste in film!”

When they got to the park, the boys quickly set everything up without Julie even needing to lift a finger. They hung a sheet over a tree branch, laid out a blanket and several pillows to lay on, and pulled out snacks and more blankets to sit under. Julie found herself sitting between Reggie and Luke as they turned on  _ Baby Driver _ . She felt so comfortable and safe and was having a lot of fun sharing popcorn and a gallon of cookie dough ice cream with the boys (seriously, why is ice cream more fun eaten straight out of the container?). But about halfway through the movie, she fell asleep, curled into Luke’s side, with her legs stretched out over Reggie and Alex’s laps. 

The next morning, she woke up on the couch in the boys’ house, still wearing Luke’s hoodie. “Crap, what time is it?” She reached for her phone, which was plugged in and sitting on the coffee table. 

She heard Alex laugh from the kitchen. “It’s like, seven, Julie.” She stood up and walked into the kitchen, where Alex was drinking a cup of coffee. She immediately grabbed a mug and poured herself a cup. 

“Why are you up?” she grumbled. Julie wasn’t  _ not _ a morning person, but she didn’t exactly do well when she was up too late at night. 

Alex laughed. “I’m a morning person. According to Reggie I was out even before you were. Of course, they woke me up when it was time to go. Luke just carried you to the car instead.” Julie blushed. “He was going to let you sleep in his bed, but the couch is way more comfortable, so we convinced him that you’d prefer the couch.”

“Yeah, thanks for that.” Alex merely nodded and took another sip of his coffee. “I don’t suppose you could take me home? I have lunch with my family and I need to shower beforehand. Not to mention, do Flynn and Carrie know where I’ve been?”

“Yeah, we texted them when we left the park that you were just gonna crash on our couch. Flynn’s response was just the laughing emoji. A lot of them actually. Carrie reminded us of her threats from when we first met her,” Alex said drily. 

Julie rolled her eyes. “My friends are ridiculous.”

“Yeah, but they’re great too. And yes, I can take you home. Just let me grab my keys.” 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phantoms discuss the performance, Julie and Emily have (yet another) heart to heart, and Alex and Willie bond a little!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! Today was my first day off from work since going back after having COVID, so I got a bit more writing done than I have the last couple days and decided to post TWO chapters instead of one! I hope you enjoy both chapters 9 and 10!

When Luke woke up on Sunday afternoon, he felt incredible. It was like the high from the show last night never left. He checked his phone and was surprised to see a few messages in the band group text:

**The Best Band Ever**

**Angelic😇 Jules:** Guys, that was so fun last night!! I love you guys a lot! 🥰

**Angelic😇 Jules:** Also, Dad and Tia have formally invited you guys to family lunch next Sunday. No pressure, but you’re welcome if you want!

**Angelic😇 Jules:** Fair warning, my family is crazy. 

**Reginald:** dude! ill be there! 

**Reginald:** do u think ur dad can help me rite a buget?

**Angelic😇 Jules:** Uh, sure, Reg. lol 

**Power Alex:** Dude, you’ve been supporting yourself for two years. How do you not have a budget?

**Power Alex:** Also, Jules, we’ll all come! I wanna meet Ray too!

The texts had started half an hour ago, and Luke realized that Julie must’ve left hours ago. He jumped out of bed and walked to the kitchen to make some coffee, and when he got there, Reggie and Alex were sitting at the table eating lunch. 

“Well good morning, Sleeping Beauty,” Alex quipped. “Even Reggie got up before you.” 

“Hey! I get up before Luke every day!” Reggie countered. Alex met him with a look. “Well, I get up before him like, half the time.”

Luke just shrugged. “Greatness just needs a little extra sleep, ya know?” He grabbed a mug and poured himself a cup of cold coffee and stuck it in the microwave. 

Alex laughed. “Julie woke up  _ hours  _ ago, dude. Apparently greatness does  _ not  _ need extra sleep.” 

“Speaking of Julie, what was with her during the show last night?” Reggie asked. “Luke, did you do something? She was avoiding you, man!” 

Luke’s brow furrowed as he grabbed his coffee from the microwave. “Yeah, I know. But I have no idea what I did.”

Alex grinned. “If I had to guess, I’d say she just got a little in her own head. It happens to the best of us. After all, her dad was there. I wouldn’t want to flirt with a rockstar on a stage in front of my parents, ya know?” 

Luke nearly choked on his first sip. “Too hot,” he mumbled, but Alex and Reggie just laughed. 

“Luke, you and Jules were  _ totally  _ vibing during ‘Bright,’ but by ‘Edge of Great,’ she was avoiding you until those sexy little riffs,” Reggie pointed out. 

“Yeah, not to mention the super intense gaze during the last lines? That was more than just ‘chemistry with everyone you sing with,’” Alex added. 

“Dude, you should just tell her you like her. I’m pretty sure she likes you too.”

“What? I don’t like her! I mean, not like that!” Luke protested.

“Luke Jacob Patterson, we’ve known you since elementary school. We know you like her. We know you know you like her. You know we know you know you like her. Cut the crap.”

“Wait, I’m confused?” Reggie said. “Who knows what?” 

Alex sighed and rolled his eyes. “Everyone in this room knows about Luke’s feelings. The only person who may not know is Julie. You should tell her.”

“Yeah, that’s what I said!” Reggie pointed out. 

Luke took a deep breath and then a long sip of coffee. Eventually, he conceded. “Okay, I might like Julie a little bit. But that doesn’t mean I need to tell her. I’m sure I’ll get over it.”

He missed the fond but knowingly annoyed faces exchanged between Alex and Reggie. 

“Whatever, dude. It’s your life.”

* * *

After family lunch, where Tia Victoria dropped a lot of not-so-subtle hints about how cute that other singer in the band was and Flynn totally egged her on, Julie headed over to Emily’s for their weekly baking lesson. 

“Hi Emily!” 

“Julie! How was the performance last night?” Julie was surprised but really excited by Emily’s interest. 

“It was great! We crushed it! And a talent scout for this music festival came and got our contact info from the guys while I was with my family. It’s not a big break, but it’s a cool place to start.”

“That’s wonderful, dear!”

“Yeah, I’m pretty excited about it! And thanks for your text! It meant a lot to me that you were thinking of us!” 

“It was kind of exciting, thinking of you kids performing. Not just busking for tips downtown, but really performing somewhere!” Emily said, her eyes shining with excitement. 

“It was really fun!”

“Well how do you feel about making some celebratory brownies?”

“That sounds amazing! Let’s do it!” 

While waiting on the brownies to cool, Emily and Julie were sitting at the kitchen table, each enjoying a cup of tea. 

“So Julie, what is it about music that you love so much?” 

Julie was a little surprised at Emily’s continued willingness to talk about the thing that seemed like a barrier between her and her son, but she happily answered the question regardless. “I love that music can make people feel things, or maybe it just makes them more aware of their feelings. I don’t know, but my mom used to write these really beautiful, really encouraging songs, and on bad days, those are the songs I need to hear. The song she wrote for me right before she died is my favorite example of that. It’s about not letting tragedy hold you back, or letting obstacles keep you from doing the things you love. And on hard days, that’s not an easy thing to do. Music helps.” 

Emily was quiet. “Why does Luke love music?” she asked after a moment. 

Julie paused. “Wouldn’t you rather hear that from him rather than me?” 

“I suppose so… It’s difficult talking to him about music. Sometimes it feels like--well, it’s silly.” There were tears in Emily’s eyes, and Julie reached over and held her hand. 

“If it’s what you feel, it’s not silly, I promise. Although you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” 

Emily sighed. “Sometimes it feels like he loves music more than he’ll ever love us.”

Julie squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry you feel that way. It’s not silly. It’s also not true, though.”

Emily smiled as she wiped a stray tear from her cheek, but she didn’t respond. So they sat together in silence for a few minutes, until Emily was ready to move on.

And eventually she did. “Please don’t say anything to Luke about this…” she whispered. 

“Never,” Julie promised. 

“Well, I suppose we should start packing up those brownies. I know you have that big Poetry test this week, and I don’t want you to lose any time studying.” 

“Thanks Emily. I, uh, I haven’t said this, but I’m really grateful for the way you look after me. I always feel very cared for with you.” 

“Oh Julie,” Emily pulled her into a hug. “I feel the same way. I’m glad you girls moved in next door.”

* * *

On Monday afternoon, Julie was supposed to meet up with Willie to work on their first major essay of the semester, but Alex texted her, panicked about how his song for comp was coming along. So she texted Willie. 

**Julie:** Willie, I’m so sorry! Alex just texted. Apparently he needs some help with our latest comp assignment. Do you mind if A.) he joins our study sesh and B.) we change locations? We might need a piano.

**Willie:** No problem, Julie! You know I’m down to hang with Alex! Just tell me where to go!

**Julie:** Willie, you’re a saint!! I just reserved practice room 225 in the Hall Music building. I’ll meet you there in fifteen!

Then, having squared that away, she texted Alex: 

**Julie 🎤🎶:** I’m studying with Willie, but he said you could join! We’re meeting in Hall’s--PR 225, just for you!

**Alex 🥁:** Julie! I can’t work on my music with WILLIE there! 

**Julie 🎤🎶:** Alex. Calm down. He’s not gonna judge your song. 

**Alex 🥁:** …

**Julie 🎤🎶:** I know you like him. But he’s chill. Besides, we’re meeting because he needs help with our Shakespeare paper. 

**Alex 🥁:** Okay. Thanks for changing your plans for me.

**Julie 🎤🎶:** Duh! You’re one of my best friends! There’s not a lot I wouldn’t do for you! 😘

**Alex 🥁:** See you in ten!

* * *

Ten minutes later, Alex walked into the agreed upon practice room, but Julie was nowhere in sight, which was surprising for someone as prompt as her. But he just walked in and made himself comfortable on the floor, pulling out his song book. 

He started tapping out the beat for his current work-in-progress and was mentally playing it, when the door opened. 

“Hey Alex, how’s it going, man?” Willie asked, walking over to sit next to him, leaning against the wall. “Is that the song that’s giving you trouble?” 

Alex nodded. “Yeah, I’m a drummer, so I don’t really work with melody and harmony much. Melodies don’t really cross my mind that often. At least the way they do for Julie. They just come to her. ” 

“Dude, I heard you singing this weekend. Melody and harmony may not be where your primary focus is, but you crushed it. You clearly have a good grasp on it. And your ear is great.”

“Thanks Willie.” Alex smiled at the guy beside him. After a moment of silence, Alex cleared his throat. “Uh, I wonder where Julie is. She’s usually pretty punctual.”

Willie chuckled. “You’re wired a little tight, huh?” 

Alex shrugged. “I’ve got anxiety. It’s not so bad these days, but I’ve always kind of been a stress-head about some things. Like following the rules. Doing well in school. Being on time. You know.”

“Is that why you started playing drums?” 

“Yeah, I mean, what better way is there to work through your feelings than wailing on some drums?” 

“I get that. Oh, look, Julie texted.” Willie picked up his phone. 

“Yeah, me too,” Alex nodded, opening the app. And there was a message from Julie to him and a number he didn’t know. 

**Julie 🎤🎶:** Guys, I’m so sorry! My bag broke and dropped my stuff everywhere! I’m gonna run to a campus convenience store and see if I can get a reusable grocery bag to stuff everything in. I’ll get there as soon as I can! I promise! 

**Unknown:** no big jules. alex and i will be fine. hope nothing important was damaged

“It looks like she texted us both,” Alex said. 

“Cool, now I have your number!” Willie said, apparently saving it in his phone. 

**Alex 🥁:** Jules! That sucks! But yeah, we’re fine! No rush

After sending his own response, Alex tried to calmly save Willie’s contact in his own phone. 

**Julie 🎤🎶:** Oh my gosh, you guys. The convenience store had *nothing* so I’m gonna have to go to the bookstore to get something. 🙄 So expensive! But close to the music building! I’ll be there soon!

**Willie 🛹:** cool see you in a few 

Willie pulled out his laptop. “I guess I should be working on this paper. I just feel like I still know nothing about Shakespeare’s plays. Like, I get that Hamlet was depressed, but why did that translate to killing Polonius?”

Alex shrugged. “I have no idea. I gave up on Shakespeare when I read  _ Romeo and Juliet _ in 9th grade. They killed themselves over a misunderstanding. I was over it. Not to mention it’s super difficult to tell what’s going on. I swear some of what he wrote isn’t even English anymore!” 

Willie laughed. “Yeah, taking a course in Shakespeare was probably not my smartest move since I can barely understand the guy.”

“You’re lucky Julie’s in that class with you. She actually  _ likes  _ Shakespeare.” 

“Meeting Julie has definitely had some major advantages on top of just how awesome she is!” 

Alex was pretty sure Willie was looking at him in this meaningful way, but he couldn’t process it at the moment, so he just wished Julie would show so she could help him with his song. “Yeah, same,” he said as he started tapping out the beat of his song. 

Willie let out a breathy laugh and started typing. “I hope she gets here soon.” 


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex has a minor freak out about Willie, and everyone surprises Reggie for his birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I missed updating yesterday! I had a pretty long day at work and needed to take care of some other things. But I'm back with another chapter today! I hope everyone reading this who uses the Gregorian Calendar has a Happy New Year!! Stay safe!

“Guys! I’m pretty sure Willie just asked me out!” Alex barged into the girls’ house and rushed into the living room where Julie and Carrie were working on homework on Wednesday evening. 

“Dude, that’s awesome!” Julie replied. 

“Oooh! Give us all the details!” Carrie added, immediately closing her laptop and patting the seat next to her on the couch. 

Alex sat down on the couch and kicked off his shoes. “Well, he and I have been texting a bit.”

“Wait wait, Flynn’s gonna want to hear this too, but I think she’s in the shower. Lemme check real quick!” Julie interrupted. 

Alex laughed a little as Julie ran down the hall and knocked on the bathroom door. “Flynn, you done?”

“Almost!” her best friend replied. “I’m just working on my eyebrows!” 

“Can it wait? Alex is here and has news!” 

The door flung open, Flynn in leggings and a t-shirt. “Definitely!” And she raced to the living room. “Alex! What happened?”

“Willie asked me out. I think.” 

“Ahhhh! Tell us everything!!” Flynn squealed as she dropped onto the floor opposite the coffee table from him. 

“Well, like I was telling Jules and Carrie, Willie and I have been texting some.”

“Like, flirty texting or just casual texting?” Carrie interrupted. 

“I don’t know? A little of both, I guess?” Alex asked, handing his unlocked phone to her. 

“Mmm, definitely some flirty texting, but not entirely” she confirmed before passing it to Julie. 

“I want no part of this privacy invasion!” Julie said, trying to return it to its owner, but Flynn intercepted it. 

“Oh my gosh, you guys are adorable!” she said, scrolling through Alex’s texts. 

“Well, we’ve been texting, and studying together this week, and so today, we met up to get some writing done. Willie said he focuses better when there’s someone else there studying too.”

“Dang if that’s not smooth,” Flynn commented. 

“Right? Like, maybe a little too smooth?” Alex asked. 

“No, not too smooth. It’s casual. Gives you guys the chance to hang pressure-free, right? Julie?”

“Yeah, I’m with Carrie. Appropriately casual. But go on! What happened today?”

“Well we were chatting a little as we studied, and I mentioned how I love the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga. I told him about how my parents and I used to go over Christmas break every December when I was a kid, and how when I was little I wanted to be a marine biologist. Well, then Willie told me his older brother’s old college roommate works there now and gets free tickets all the time. He asked if I’d wanna go for a day trip over Fall Break next week and I said ‘yeah, sounds great’ and he was like ‘cool, it’s a date.’”

“Oh my gosh, Alex, that’s great!!” Flynn exclaimed. 

“But like, did he really mean ‘it’s a date’ like ‘it’s a date?’ Or was it more like ‘cool, it’s a mutual event that we shall both be attending at the same time in a totally platonic way?’”

“Alex, it sounds like a date, but if you want clarification, you could always ask him! He once told me that gay guys like guys who are straightforward.” 

“I don’t know! Cause what if he says no, it’s just friends hanging out platonically? Then I’ll feel like an idiot for getting my hopes up!” 

“But at least you’ll know instead of being in this weird, anxious limbo for a week!” 

Alex sighed nervously and grabbed his phone. “I guess you’re right… is it weird if I text him?” 

“Don’t do that!” Carrie warned, grabbing his phone out of his hands. “It looks desperate and a little immature.” 

“I don’t know, it could just come off as chill, unconcerned ya know? If he says it right.” Flynn responded. 

“Guys, I think it’s probably best if Alex just talks to him in person!” Julie interjected before her roommates could start debating it. “Alex, it’ll be okay. Look, we’re studying together the three of us tomorrow, right? I’ll get up and run to the bathroom and you can ask then. And then if it’s weird, I’ll be there to break the tension and provide emotional support. And if it’s not weird, great! You’ll have your answer!” 

He took another deep breath. “Okay. But I think maybe not-me should hang onto my phone until then? Because I’m  _ really  _ tempted to text him.” 

Julie laughed. “You got it. Carrie has a system for that.” 

“Yeah, but you should probably stay with us until then, so one of us can watch your phone. You know, just in case someone important calls or texts you and you need to know about it,” Carrie said matter-of-factly. 

“Fine, but I need to head home to pick up a few things.” He stood up and walked back toward the exit, but stopped as he reached the door. “You guys are kind of intense,” he observed. 

“I know for a fact that Julie warned you of that,” Flynn responded. “And we know you love us anyway!” 

“I never said I didn’t!” Alex laughed as he walked out the door to his car. 

“So who’s gonna be responsible for his phone? My gut says Julie since she has class with him and is studying with him tomorrow night,” Flynn said calmly. 

Julie shrugged. “I can if you guys don’t want to. But you know I’m the most likely to give him his phone back without thinking about it.”

“True…” Flynn acknowledged. “Carrie?” 

“I can do it, sure. Until tomorrow afternoon? I’ll meet Julie on campus after class, right before she and Alex go to study with Willie, and she can give it back to him then, once he’s talked to Willie.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll meet you outside of the library? Around 3?”

“Perfect.”

Having made their arrangements, Carrie and Julie got back to their homework and Flynn returned to the bathroom to finish her eyebrows. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. “Come on in!” Julie shouted, and the door opened. “You didn’t have to knock, Alex, we knew you were coming back,” she said, not looking up from her laptop.

“Wait, so Alex isn’t here?”

Julie was startled to hear Luke’s voice. She looked up from her paper about Ophelia’s autonomy in  _ Hamlet  _ and saw Luke, standing there, looking excited. 

“No, he went home to get a few things. Why did you think he’d be here? And why are you looking for him?” 

Luke looked a little sheepish at Carrie’s questions. “We all share our locations always, just to be safe. His phone is here, and I needed a little help with something… personal. And time-sensitive.” 

Carrie rolled her eyes. “You boys are some other kind of committed to each other.”

“We’re family,” Luke said defensively. “We’re the best family we’ve got, anyway. Especially for Reggie, but Alex and me too.” 

“So what was so urgent you couldn’t just text Alex?”

Luke’s face flushed, and Flynn laughed. “Oh boy. This is gonna be good.” 

“I forgot Reggie’s birthday today, which also happens to be my parents’ anniversary,” Luke mumbled, but Julie heard him anyway. 

“Oh my gosh, is it Reggie’s birthday??” she squealed. “Why did no one tell us??”

“Well we need to organize a celebration!” Carrie said, closing her computer and standing up. “Julie, run down the street to Sweet Loaf and see if they have a chocolate cake. Then run to Dominoes. I’m ordering some pizzas for pick up.” Julie nodded and started packing up her stuff, which was strewn much more widely across the coffee table and couch than she had realized. 

Flynn emerged from the bathroom and came towards them. “What’s with all the noise? He didn’t text Willie after all, did he?”

“No, apparently the boys forgot Reggie’s birthday. Can you do something to make this place look a little more festive? Streamers or balloons or something?” 

“Girl, you know I’m a master decorator! How long have I got?”

Carrie looked at Luke with a raised eyebrow. “Uh, he gets off work in about an hour?” 

“Perfect. It’ll take me half that to get some balloons from Party City and decorate this place to the nines,” Flynn said confidently.

“Great. Luke, I need you to go home and wait for Reggie, then make up an excuse to get him here. But first, is there anyone else who he’d want to celebrate with?”

“Alex needs to be here. And maybe that girl Kayla? From Dirty Candy? He was totally vibing with her after the showcase. Really, you could just invite them all. He thinks you guys are great.” Julie saw Flynn flinch a little. She had definitely  _ not  _ noticed anything there, and was suddenly very surprised that she hadn’t. They would have to discuss it later. 

Carrie nodded and grabbed her phone. “Great. No coworkers he’d want to invite? Other friends?”

“Nah, most of our friends left town after high school, and his coworkers are pretty annoying, apparently.” 

Carrie snorted. “Fine, well in that case, head home and wait for Reggie. And like I said, make up an excuse. Do NOT tell him why we need him here.”

“Understood.” Luke gave the girls a mock salute and rushed out. 

“Okay, I’m waiting for Alex to get back, and when he does I’m going to have him clean up a little. Then I’m running out to get gifts. I was thinking a nicer strap for his bass, because the one he has is looking a little rough. Maybe one with studs, that feels pretty rockstar. Then maybe a gift card to his favorite store? Where does he shop, do y'all know?” 

“He gets a lot of his stuff from that vintage shop on Carter street,” Flynn responded without missing a beat. When Julie gave her a look, she blushed a little and shrugged. “We’ve been shopping there together a couple times.” 

“Great, that’s not far. Any other ideas for gifts?” 

“He loves jazz and country. Oooh. What about a pair of cowboy boots? To help him look the part whenever he’s ready to give up the rockstar look for the country star vibe?” Julie suggested.

“Great, I love it, I’ll text Luke to get his shoe size. And I’ll throw in a Stetson, too, just to complete the look.” 

“Hey, I don’t have to go right away, so you go ahead and leave, I’ll wait for Alex and give him his marching orders before going to grab the pizza. And I’ll call Sweet Loaf ahead to make sure they have a chocolate cake already frosted with a corny birthday message.”

“Excellent. Then I’m heading out. See you girls in a bit!” Carrie said, grabbing her purse and walking briskly out the front door. 

* * *

Reggie was totally surprised when Luke pushed him through the door of the girls’ house and there were all his favorite people yelling “Surprise!” He was bowled over. 

“Oh my gosh, guys! I thought you had forgotten my birthday!!” Reggie exclaimed, pulling Luke and Alex into a hug. 

“Reggie, no way! Besides, turning 20 is a huge deal!” Alex said, while Carrie and Julie exchanged eye rolls. 

“Dude, come have pizza and cake!” Julie said, pulling him out of his roommates’ embrace. 

“Chocolate cake?” Reggie asked excitedly. 

“Is there any other kind?” Julie joked. “It even has red sprinkles, just for you.” 

Reggie beamed at her. “Thanks! Also, this place looks great!! And the music is awesome!”

“That’s all Flynn! She’s an excellent decorator, and she clearly knows your musical interests well!” Julie said proudly. 

“I do what I can for my people,” Flynn said nonchalantly. 

“Thanks Flynn!” Reggie pulled her into a hug next, and Julie inwardly cringed a little. If what Luke had said earlier was true, Flynn was in for a little bit of heartbreak. 

“Seriously, don’t worry about it!” Flynn pulled out of Reggie’s hug. “Come get pizza! I’m hungry, and I bet you are too!!” She dragged him to the table and handed him a plate. 

He filled up his plate with pizza and followed Flynn to the living room where several other people were mingling. The pair dropped onto the couch side by side. “So tell me honestly, Luke and Alex forgot it was my birthday until like, 20 minutes ago, right?”

Flynn snorted. “They’re a little better than that. It was like, a little over an hour ago when Luke barged into the house panicking.”

Reggie laughed. “Well, I’m impressed you guys got so much done. It’s like a real party.” 

Flynn gave him a bit of side-eye. “It  _ is  _ a real party. For you.” 

Reggie blushed. “Yeah, I know. Just, sort of a foreign concept.”

Flynn set her pizza back down on her plate. “You  _ have  _ had a birthday party before, right?”

Reggie shrugged. “I mean, I’ve always celebrated my birthday. The guys always get me dinner and maybe a cupcake or a card. When we were kids, Mrs. Patterson always used to send Luke to school with a card and a box of brownies for my birthday. I’d tell her she didn’t have to, and she’d say, ‘Nonsense. Everyone deserves to celebrate the big days!’”

Flynn nodded, trying to keep her cool. “Well, she’s right. And as long as you’ve got me, Carrie, and Jules in your life, you can count on being celebrated!”

Reggie smiled at her, and she picked her pizza back up, even as she was internally crying for her friend. She understood not having big celebrations every year, but never having had a birthday party before at all made her want to cry. Reggie was one of the biggest-hearted people she knew. If anyone deserved to be celebrated, it was him. 

Just then, Kayla walked into the room and sat on Reggie’s other side. “Hey Reg! Happy birthday!” He immediately turned and started talking to her, and Flynn felt a sinking in her stomach. She’d kind of liked Reggie for a while, and it totally sucked watching him flirt with some other girl. She got up and headed back into the kitchen. Julie saw her and waved her over to the corner where she was chatting with Jasmine, one of the other members of Dirty Candy. 

“Hey, sorry Jazz, I need to talk to Flynn about something,” Julie said with a smile before walking towards her bestie and pulling her into a hug. “Sorry I’ve been so wrapped up in my own stuff I didn’t notice,” she whispered, and Flynn squeezed her tighter. 

“I was hiding. Not your fault,” Flynn whispered back The girls pulled apart as Luke pranced over. 

“I was thinking about that scout who--are you guys okay?” 

Julie smiled, “Yeah, ‘course. What were you saying?”

Luke didn’t look convinced. “Oh, uh, nevermind. Look, thanks for doing all of this. Reggie’s awesome and he deserves to be celebrated, but Alex and I suck at this kind of thing.”

Flynn scoffed. “We noticed. But hey, you guys are family now, too, so we’re always here for this sort of thing!”

“Speaking of!” Julie ran over to where her purse was sitting on the counter. She grabbed it and rushed back. “I went to the drug store to pick up birthday cards from all of us for Reg. While he’s in the other room, sign! And add a little note, something that tells him he’s loved!” She handed him a card with a cartoon horse on the front and Luke laughed. 

“He’ll love it!” 

Julie handed Flynn one that had a picture of a cake on it. “Thanks, Julie!” 

Julie smiled. “Of course! And uh, Luke? I grabbed this for you too…” She held out a card with a wedding cake on it. Luke looked confused. “You said it’s your parents’ anniversary today. I thought you might want to write them a note. After all, 32 years is kind of a big deal.” Luke didn’t take the card, and Julie started shoving it back into her bag. “Sorry, you don’t have to, I just thought it might be nice and I was getting one for them from me anyway, but don’t worry about it nevermind forget I said anything…” she rambled. 

Luke grabbed the card before it was all the way in her bag. “Thanks, Jules. That was really cool of you.”

Flynn clocked the intense gaze the pair shared, and let it go on for just a moment before clearing her throat. Luke scratched his neck and Julie blushed and Flynn couldn’t help but internally groan. These two just needed to spit it out! “So did Alex tell you about Willie?” she asked. 

“Yes! I’m so excited for him! But of course he’s totally panicking.” 

“Yeah we know. Why do you think his phone was here when you came looking for him earlier today?” Flynn asked with a smirk. When the blank expression on Luke’s face didn’t change, Flynn sighed. “We’re keeping his phone so he doesn’t panic-text Willie and ask if it’s a date-date or just a friend-date.” 

“Oh!” Realization dawned on Luke’s face, and even Flynn had to admit it was adorable. She could see why Julie liked him so much. “That makes sense! That’s a great idea! I wish we’d thought to do that in high school with Reggie! He might’ve had a shot with some of the girls he liked if he’d just stopped panic-texting them weird pickup lines.” He laughed, and the girls laughed with him. 

“I’m not totally convinced that  _ any  _ of you should have cell phones,” Julie joked. “I know how you text.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey again! I didn't plan for this whole Reggie-Flynn thing, it just sort of happened. But I don't hate it, so I'm letting it happen! I hope you guys like where it leads!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All is resolved between Alex and Willie; Julie and the Phantoms are booked for a new gig!

After the girls from Dirty Candy left, Carrie pulled out the immaculately wrapped gifts (claiming they were from everyone) and everyone gave Reggie their cards. He cried when he saw what they had given him, although everyone pretended not to notice, and the girls invited Reggie and Luke to crash in the house too, since Alex was already spending the night. They had a guest bedroom with two beds in it, and then someone would have to sleep on the couch, but no one minded. Until then, they decided to watch a movie, all homework being pushed off to another day.

Unsurprisingly, Alex was the first to fall asleep around 10:30, which meant he was the one to sleep on the couch. Around midnight, everyone else decided to go to bed too, since the next morning the girls had class and Reggie had work. Secretly, Julie was a little relieved that Luke was in the guest room. She felt sure it would be difficult to focus in the morning if she knew he would be asleep on her couch while she was getting ready. 

And in the morning, she was right to be glad. She didn’t even see Luke before she left for class, but Reggie sent a picture of sleeping Luke to their group text while she was in class, and he was adorable. 

Julie and Alex carpooled to campus early to eat lunch, had class together and then separated when Julie had Music Therapy. After that, she worked on some Music Theory homework while she waited on Alex and Willie to get out of class so they could study together. When she saw that there were fifteen minutes before she and the boys were supposed to meet, she packed up her stuff and headed to the library to pick up Alex’s phone and find the study room. 

She got to the study room early, knowing that Alex would probably be panicking and could use a friend to calm him down. And she was right; Alex was pacing around the room when she got there. “Hey Alex, you wanna talk about it?” 

He shook his head, “Nah, I think if I do, I’ll be sick.”

Julie dropped her backpack and grabbed Alex by the shoulders. “Hey, it’ll be okay either way. I promise.” When Alex didn’t even nod, she sighed. “OK, let’s breathe, alright? In for four, okay? One, two, three, four. Hold, two three four. Out, two, three, four.” She coached him through the exercise a couple of times and eventually he calmed down enough to sit at least. 

“I’ll step out early, maybe claim I need caffeine and run down to the Starbucks on the ground floor. In about ten minutes?”

Alex nodded. “That sounds great. Thanks Julie.”

“And here, I’ll leave your phone with you, so if it’s awkward and you need to leave, you just text me and I’ll rush back, grab my stuff, and we’ll go home and eat ice cream and watch a sad movie and pretend none of this ever happened.”

“Can we build a pillow fort?” 

“Duh!”

“You’re the best.” Julie just gave him a big smile. 

“It’s gonna be fine, I promise.” 

And sure enough, Willie showed up about a minute later. 

“Hey guys! What’s up?” he asked, pulling his helmet off as he stepped into the study room. 

“Hey! You know, just working on stuff,” Julie said with a laugh. “I’m still working on that _Hamlet_ essay for Stillman. I was supposed to finish it last night, but we had to throw an impromptu birthday party for Reggie because _someone_ forgot their best friend’s birthday.” She laughed, and Alex colored. 

“Technically, I didn’t forget, I just have no party planning skills. I got him a cupcake and was going to buy him dinner. It was Luke who forgot.” 

Julie laughed. “Okay, okay, that’s fair.”

“Well hey, I’m working on that too. Which prompt did you choose? Wait, let me guess. The one about Shakespeare’s portrayal of women in _Hamlet_ , right?”

Julie shrugged. “If I know what I want to say, why bother trying to say something different?” 

Willie laughed. “Fair enough. I chose the one about mental illness.”

“That doesn’t surprise me, Psych major.”

“What are you working on, Alex?” Willie asked, turning to the drummer. 

“Oh, I have to create a pitch for a marketing campaign for a fancy hair elastic. Like, I wish the professor had assigned me something I at least use.”

“Dude, I can tell you all about hair bands! Have you thought about trying to market them to men? Like I know that long hair is more often associated with women in our society, but there’s a growing number of men who wear their hair long and it would be cool to be able to buy hair accessories that weren’t _just_ marketed toward women. I mean, they make these plastic ones that are in the shape of a spring, and they come in all these stereotypically feminine colors, which I don’t _really_ mind, but also, olive green is my color, and it’s a bummer they don’t sell these hair bands in colors like that.” 

Alex tilted his head as Willie went on, clearly interested in the idea, and started taking notes as he talked. Julie turned her attention back to her essay. About ten minutes in, she stopped. “Guys, I’m exhausted, so I’m going to run down to Starbucks, or maybe the convenience store on the ground floor if the line is terrible, and get myself some caffeine. I’ll be back in a few.” 

“Cool, sounds good.” Willie nodded and kept working, and Julie caught Alex’s eye. She smiled from where she stood behind Willie and mimed taking a deep breath before walking out of the room and closing the door behind her. 

She kept her phone in her hand, just in case Alex sent her an SOS, but it stayed silent her whole trip. When she got back with her Pumpkin Spice Latte in hand, she peeked cautiously through the window before opening the door. Alex had a dopey grin on his face, and the guys were holding hands across the table. 

“Oh, thank goodness,” she whispered under her breath as she opened the door. Alex jumped, clearly startled, and his face turned red. “You cannot possibly have forgotten me. I was gone for like, five minutes!” She teased. 

“Actually, you were gone for seven and a half,” Willie responded, grinning at her. “You knew, didn’t you?”

“What, that you two don’t communicate clearly? Yeah. But apparently that’s over?” she asked. 

Alex nodded. 

“Good. I’m happy for you guys. But now we all actually need to get some homework done today!” 

* * *

Luke was at work when he got the call. It was Friday, almost a week after Julie and the Phantom’s first gig. 

“Uh, hello?” he answered, ducking into the break room and hoping that his boss wouldn’t catch him taking a personal call during work hours. 

“Hi, I’m Allison Grace, I’m calling for Julie Molina, Luke Patterson, or Flynn Jones?”

“Hi Ms. Grace, this is Luke speaking.”

“Well hi Luke. I understand you’re a member of the band Julie and the Phantoms?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Well, I work for James C. Carter, who runs the Knoxville Fall Music Festival. We had a band fall through, and we’re looking for a group that can perform a half-hour set next month.”

* * *

**The Best Band Ever**

**LUKE the puppy:** GUYS GUESS WHAT

**Power Alex:** Dude, is everything okay? You used capital letters.

**LUKE the puppy:** WE GOT SCOUTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Reginald:** omg now hes using pucntuatin 2???

**Angelic😇 Jules:** lol

**Angelic😇 Jules:** And he’s spelling things correctly.

**Angelic😇 Jules:** But also, Luke, what happened?

**LUKE the puppy:** THIS WOMAN CALLED ME AND WANTS JULIE AND THE PHANTOMS TO PERFORM AT A FESTIVAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Power Alex:**!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Power Alex:** Wait. Is this a real festival or like, a couple bands playing in a field somewhere? 

**LUKE the puppy:** … probz the 1st one? 

**Angelic😇 Jules:** OK Luke, give us the actual information. 

**LUKE the puppy:** band meeting wen i get off work plz

**LUKE the puppy:** ill tell all then

**Angelic😇 Jules:** Can it be at my house? It’s my turn to cook dinner, and besides, Flynn’s gonna want to know everything too. She’s decided that she’s our manager. Also, my class ends WAY later than your shift, so it’ll have to be after that.

**Reginald:** works for me! 

**Power Alex:** So… Willie and I were supposed to go to dinner tonight… Can it wait until after that? 

**Angelic😇 Jules:** YES! Finally!! Yeah, we can wait! I’ve got some brownies and cookies in the freezer that I made with Emily. I’ll get Flynn to pull them out now so we can have them at our meeting. 

**LUKE the puppy:** u hav my moms cookies?

**Angelic😇 Jules:** Yeah, we bake together, remember? Every Sunday. And yes, they are chocolate chip, your favorite. 

**LUKE the puppy:** jules i think i love u?

**Angelic😇 Jules:** lol see you guys at 8:30 

**Julie’s Phantoms**

**reg:** luke, ur rlly not chill at all, r u?

**LUKE:** i dont kno wat u mean

**Alex:** We literally all know what he means. 🙄🙄🙄

**Alex:** “jules i think i love u?”

**reg:** ^^^

**Alex:** 🙄🙄🙄

**reg:** 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

**LUKE:** i didnt mean it like that

**Alex:** Except that you definitely did. 

**reg:** definitely

**LUKE:** if i ever confess my love to some1 i wont do it over txt

**LUKE:** im not that pathetic

**Alex:** And by “someone” you mean Julie

**reg:** and by if you mean wen

**LUKE:** you guys suck. 

**reg:** ur stuck w us now dude


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys come to a Molina Sunday lunch

After spending the morning alternating between freaking out about the gig and the flirty banter she and Luke had shared over text and then at their band meeting on Friday (but really, that text!), Julie spent Saturday night at her dad’s house to help him get ready for the three extra mouths at Sunday lunch, bringing the grand total of diners up to ten, one of the largest Sunday Lunches to date, even without Carrie, who had a test to study for.

“I really think you’ll like them, Dad. They’re really great!” she said excitedly as she helped him set the table on Sunday morning. 

“I believe you, mija. You’ve always had a good sense about people. I’m sure they’re wonderful.” 

“They really are! Reggie is a little like a lost puppy--speaking of, he asked if you could help him write a budget?” Julie paused as she set out a plate and turned to look at her father.

Ray shrugged and gave Julie a faintly confused glance as he laid out forks and knives. “I’d be happy to, but did his parents not help him with that?” 

Julie frowned. “Reggie’s parents aren’t exactly the nurturing type. They were actually pretty neglectful from what I gather, although he’s never used those words.”

Ray frowned too. “I’m sorry, Julie. I’m happy to help Reggie with anything ‘adulting’-related, as you kids say.” 

Julie laughed. “I’ll be sure to pass your message along.”

Ray smiled. “Tell me about the other two boys?”

“Well, Alex is adorable. He’s got anxiety, so ya know, be chill. He’s also got a kind of strained relationship with his parents, although better than the other two.”

“I’m sorry your friends and their parents don’t get along well,” Ray commented. 

“Yeah, me too. I know what it’s like to wish you could be with a parent and not be able to be with her, but it seems infinitely worse to know that your parents are out there but are knowingly separating themselves from you, whether actively or passively.” 

Ray pulled his daughter into a hug. “I know, mija. I miss her too.” 

Julie nodded and pulled away. “We should probably finish up. Tia should be here any minute with the arroz con grandules, and you know she’ll be annoyed if she has to help us set the table, on top of cooking everything.” 

Ray laughed, even as he noticed she hadn’t said much about the guitar player, Luke. “You’re probably right. Although why she insisted on cooking on the day she meets your friends, I don’t know. It would have been far easier to just order take out.” 

* * *

Luke was having a lot of fun at the Molina’s Sunday Lunch. It was cool how everyone sort of talked over each other and reached for what they wanted. It was much more chaotic than anything his parents had ever done. And it was pretty cool how no one stayed in the same seat the whole meal. 

With most of the food in the kitchen and everyone sitting in the dining room, people would periodically get up to get more food or refill a drink or whatever, and odds were good someone else would have taken their spot by the time they returned. It really threw Luke off at first, when Reggie stood up to grab another soda, and two seconds later Julie’s Tia Victoria had taken his seat and was asking Luke about how he got interested in music. And about five minutes later, when Reggie reappeared on his other side, Carlos swapped seats with Victoria so he could ask them what kind of video games they liked, whether they played sports, and what it was like being in a rock band. 

At one point, Luke ended up with Carlos’s friend Danny between him and Julie. It was obvious that the kid had a huge crush on his buddy’s sister, and Julie had no idea. Julie was trying to keep Danny involved in the conversation, while also talking to Luke about the family. Julie smiled at the general bustle of the table. “You guys didn’t know Mom, but she would have loved this. She loved bringing people together, you know?” 

Luke smiled at her and nodded. “That’s what she loved about music, isn’t it? The way it transcends race and nationality and culture and brings people really together.”

Julie’s smile widened, and Luke felt his heart stutter. He noticed Danny turning red, and hoped he hadn’t done the same. “That’s it exactly. She loved how thousands of people could all be listening to the same song at the same time, vibing with it, really _experiencing it,_ you know, and all be totally different. Different gender, different age, different socioeconomic status. But in that moment, they’re all together.” 

“That’s really cool,” Danny said quickly as he turned an even deeper shade of red and looked down at his plate. 

Julie bumped his arm with her elbow in a friendly way. “Yeah, she was amazing. I wish you guys could have known her. You would have loved her so much, and I know she would have loved you guys too.”

Luke grinned at the awkward teenager. “So Danny, tell me about your family. Are they crazy like the Molinas?”

Julie gave him a mock-indignant glare that he just laughed at as Danny responded. “Not like the Molinas, but my family is definitely a little nuts. My parents are lawyers, so we have a lot of really intense debates in our house. Things can get super heated, but then as soon as the discussion is over, that’s it. No one’s passion about politics or philosophy becomes unpleasantness to someone else once the conversation has ended. My oldest sister lives in New York City, and her philosophies have changed a lot from what they were when she lived at home, but it still never gets ugly.”

“How many sisters do you have?” Julie prompted. 

“Three sisters. And then I have a brother, too. Anna’s the oldest, she’s twenty-three. Emilia’s next, she’s eighteen. Then my sister Josie is fourteen, and my brother Ricky is twelve.”

“Dang, that’s a lot of siblings! Your house must be pretty full!” Luke exclaimed. “I’m an only child, so my house was always pretty quiet. It felt a little empty.”

“Yeah, sometimes it feels like I can’t get a minute to myself. But I also love them. No one has your back like a sibling.”

“I always wished I had a sibling. Maybe a little sister. I feel like I would do the intimidating older brother thing well,” Luke commented. Julie laughed. “What?”

“Luke, you’re basically a puppy. No way would you ever be able to intimidate your little sister’s significant other.”

Danny laughed with Julie at that, and Luke felt himself flush a little. “I totally could if I needed to! Just like I bet you could with any of Carlos’s potential dates.”

Julie smirked at Luke. “Well, I know from experience that I intimidate the folks who ask out Flynn and Carrie, even from my fun-size stature of 5 feet 4 inches tall. So I’ll have no problem intimidating anyone who comes near Carlos with less than ideal intentions. Do you have _any_ experience intimidating people?” she challenged. 

Luke paused, thinking back. “You know, I think one time I scared a girl that Reggie liked off.” Julie’s expression was clearly challenging his claim, and it made him pause. “OK, so I literally hid behind a closed door and jumped out and scared her, which is different than intimidating her,” he conceded. 

“That’s what I thought!” Julie said triumphantly, taking a bite of her cake. 

“Uh, I’m gonna get some more water,” Danny mumbled, slipping out of his seat and grabbing his glass. 

Julie hopped smoothly from her chair to his now-vacant one, sitting immediately beside Luke. His stomach flipped at the suddenly diminished distance. “So, I’m sorry everything is so crazy here,” she said a bit more quietly now that she was closer to him. 

Luke beamed at her. “Don’t be! I love it! Organized chaos is what I live for. And my family’s nothing like this.” 

Julie chuckled. “Yeah, I know. My dad’s a pull-you-into-a-hug-and-let-you-cry-on-his-shirt kind of guy, whereas your dad’s a hand-you-a-handkerchief-and-pat-you-on-the-back kind of guy. My mom liked to celebrate with a little bit of rum and take out, your mom celebrates with brownies and a pot roast.”

Luke nodded. “I forget sometimes how close you are with my parents. Not even Alex and Reggie know them the way you seem to.” 

Julie smiled at him. “I love your parents, even as different as they are from mine. I wouldn’t change them at all!” 

There was a warmth in Luke’s chest that exploded at her words. He looked into her eyes as he said confidently, “Good.”

* * *

Things felt especially crazy at Sunday Lunch that week. Flynn chalked it up to the three enthusiastic boys that had joined them for the first time, along with the absence of the typically-calming Carrie. Flynn had started off the meal sitting next to Tia Victoria, so naturally, they gossiped about Julie and Luke. 

Ten minutes into lunch, Tia had nudged Flynn and nodded subtly to Luke.“Oh mija, do you see how he keeps looking over at her? It’s adorable!”

“Tia, you don’t even know! Carrie walked in on them working on a song the other day and she said she thought they were about to kiss, their faces were so close!”

“Really? So do you think they’ll start dating soon?” Tia sounded so hopeful. 

“Who knows? They both keep spouting some crap about ‘our friendship is more important,’ and ‘what happens to the band if it doesn’t work out?’ Really, I think they’re each just scared the other doesn’t feel the same way.” 

“Ohhh. But it’s so obvious that their feelings are mutual!”

“Only to the rest of the world, apparently.” Flynn sighed and rolled her eyes. 

“And what about you, Flynn? Any cute boys you’re hoping will ask you out? Or who you’re going to ask out?”

Flynn shrugged. “I mean, I like this guy, but I’m pretty sure he likes this other girl. And really, that’s okay. We totally clicked, he’s cute, he has great taste in music, but I can handle being just friends. I didn’t even tell the girls until the other night. And technically, I didn’t tell, Julie just figured it out.” She glanced over to Julie, and then to Reggie. 

Tia wrapped one arm around the girl and squeezed her tightly. “I’m sorry, mija. But don’t give up. You could always tell him how you feel, and maybe you’ll be surprised.”

Flynn smiled. “Thanks Tia, but a mutual friend of ours is pretty sure he’s about to ask out this other girl.”

“What do Julie and Carrie think?”

“They think so too. Julie gives me a tiny pity-glance every time he walks in the room. Carrie doesn’t say anything, but she’s friends with the girl and that girl _definitely_ likes him back.” 

“Well, remember that you are a wonderful young woman. You’re gorgeous, talented, smart, and the best friend I’ve ever seen. Any man would be lucky to catch your eye.” She leaned in closer and whispered in Flynn’s ear. “And Reggie’s missing out on a lot by picking some other girl.” Flynn’s eyes widened for a moment and she looked over to Tia Victoria, who just smiled softly. “I know my girls, Flynn,” she said quietly. 

“You rock, Tia.” 

  
  


* * *

“Dang, I need to leave if I’m gonna make it to Emily’s on time! Dad, do you mind if I head out? I promise to help with clean up next week!” Luke felt the explosion of warmth in his chest thrum at Julie’s words. He couldn’t describe it, but he kind of loved that Julie was so close with his mom. 

“Go, Julie! Have fun!” Ray said, waving his daughter out. 

“We can help clean!” Reggie volunteered. “None of us has anywhere to be for a while!” 

“Well, that’s very kind of you, boys, but not necessary,” Ray replied. “Carlos can help, and I know Victoria’s going to stick around for a bit, too! She always does.” 

“No, please let us help! It was so fun, and it was so kind of you to invite us!” Alex insisted, and Ray shrugged. 

“Well, if one of you wants to help by putting all of the leftovers in smaller containers so they’ll fit in the fridge, there are glass jars and things in that cabinet over there. And then the serving dishes can come to me at the sink. And if one of you could sweep the dining room, it doesn’t have to be perfect, but Tori will kill me if she steps into the room and it crunches under her feet.” 

Alex grabbed a broom before Ray had even finished talking. “Sweeping is my favorite! I’m on it!” 

Ray laughed. “Thank you Alex. And lastly, if one of you could take out the trash and put a new bag in the trash can.” Reggie started for the garbage, so Luke reached for the cabinet with containers for the leftovers. 

“So Luke, you grew up in Brentwood?” 

“Yeah, in the house right next to Julie and the girls, actually.” 

“So she’s told me. Do you still live in Brentwood?” 

“Nah, it’s too expensive. The guys and I rent a small house in west Nashville. It’s a little cheaper there. There’re a few college kids in our neighborhood, and a few families. It’s not exactly the fanciest area, but I really like it.” 

Ray nodded as he washed dishes by hand. “I understand. I grew up in Memphis, and we didn’t exactly live in the best area, either. I mean, it wasn’t unsafe, but it also wasn’t like Brentwood. But I loved it a lot. It surrounded me with a lot of different perspectives, which is how I got interested in cameras, actually.”

“Right, Julie mentioned you’re a--videographer?” Luke asked, unsure of the exact word. 

Ray nodded. “That’s right! And a photographer. You have a good memory!” 

“Sorry, how did different perspectives lead you to cameras?” Luke asked as he carried over the first big serving bowl to the sink.

“Well, every photo or video has a very specific perspective, unique to that moment and that camera. Similarly, every person has a unique perspective. Put a camera in someone else’s hands, and you see the world through their eyes, if only for a moment. I loved getting to share my view of the world with anyone who would look. I still do. I have a few photos in a gallery downtown, on top of the videography business.” 

“That’s super cool. I never thought of it that way,” Luke said, nodding enthusiastically. 

“Yes, that was something Rose really appreciated about my work, too. She told me that my session with the Petal Pushers was the reason she even gave me the time of day.” Ray chuckled, but Luke’s brain started running in overdrive. 

“The Petal Pushers? As in Rose and the Petal Pushers? You married Rosalinda Vasquez?”

Ray laughed. “Didn’t Julie tell you?” 

Luke shook his head. “It must’ve slipped her mind. Or else she thought I wouldn’t know them. They only released the one album.”

“I know. I took the photos for the album cover.”

“Wait, so that’s how Julie’s mom knew Trevor Wilson. She was the lead singer of the band before they became The Tributes! She wrote their biggest hits! Her song won a Grammy!” 

Ray nodded. “Julie wasn’t kidding when she said you have a one-track mind when it comes to music,” he commented. 

Luke shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Molina! I just never knew! But it explains so much! Rose and the Petal Pushers was an incredible band! I always wondered why Rose left! She sort of dropped out of the public eye, for the most part.”

“She left because she got sick. She got better that time, but it made her realize what was most important to her wasn’t the fame or the money; it was all about the music. So she kept writing and she kept playing and she taught piano and guitar lessons. And then we had Julie and Carlos, and they became her whole world.” Ray’s tone had turned wistful and then sad. 

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Molina! I didn’t mean to pry, or bring up anything unpleasant!” Luke panicked, thinking his host was about to cry. 

“No, you didn’t. And please call me Ray, Luke. We’re both adults, after all.”

“Yes sir,” Luke said with a nod, carrying over the last serving bowl and then carefully putting the leftovers in the fridge. 

* * *

**😇 AND THE 👻👻👻**

**👻🎸🧡:** JULIE YOUR MOM WAS ROSALINDA VASQUEZ????

**👻🎸🧡:** WHY DIDNT YOU TELL US????

😇🎤💜 **:** 🤷🏾‍♀️

😇🎤💜 **:** I didn’t think you’d know who she was?

😇🎤💜 **:** Besides, to me she was just Mom. Not Rose and the Petal Pushers. She left the band way before I was born.

👻🪕💖 **:** wait ur mom was rose from rose and the petal pushers??????????????????

**👻🥁🤍:** No way, that’s pretty cool! 

**👻🥁🤍:** What days are we having band practice this week? 

😇🎤💜 **:** Did Dad tell you, Luke?

**👻🎸🧡:** yeah

**👻🎸🧡:** and uh i mite o him an aplgy

**👻🥁🤍:** Oh boy, what’d you do this time, Luke?

**👻🎸🧡:** nothing bad

**👻🎸🧡:** i just got a lil excited bout ROSALINDA VASQUEZ 

**👻🎸🧡:** jules, is it wierd if i had a crush on ur mom in 7th grade

**👻🥁🤍:** Um, YES! 

**👻🥁🤍:** Julie, I would apologize for him, but you already know him. 

😇🎤💜 **:** lol it’s fine. I mean, yes it's weird, but I think I can handle it. 

👻🪕💖 **:** tbh i had a thng 4 her 2

😇🎤💜 **:** lol whatever Reg

**👻🥁🤍:** If it makes you feel better, I *never* had a crush on your mom. Although her music is incredible, and I definitely had a crush on the drummer. Chris Lewis was GORGEOUS 🥁🤍🥁

**👻🥁🤍:** Drummers *are* objectively the hottest band members. No offense to the rest of you.

😇🎤💜 **:** lol this is such a weird conversation. Also, Uncle Chris *was* pretty good looking back in the day.

😇🎤💜 **:** Gotta go! It’s time for me and Emily to pull the cookies out of the oven! 🍪🍪

😇🎤💜 **:** Also, I can’t do practice on Tuesday like normal. I have other plans! Sorry! But I’m good every other day! 

* * *

When Julie came home after her baking lesson with Emily, Flynn was watching _High School Musical_ in the living room. Julie flopped onto the couch beside her bestie and didn’t say a word. But when it got to the part where Taylor and Chad tricked Troy and Gabriella into being apart, she looked over at Flynn. 

“We haven’t really talked about it. Do you want to talk about it?”

Flynn rolled her eyes. “Do I ever want to talk about my own drama?”

Julie scrunched her eyebrows. “Well, for the last three years, you’ve been supporting me in my own drama, which hasn’t left us much space to talk about yours. The way I see it, we’re way overdue.” She pursed her lips. “So talk.”

Flynn sighed. “I like him, okay? I think he’s great! He’s adorable and hilarious and yeah, the way he rocks on stage with you guys is hot and he’s got an awesome voice, but did you know he also plays upright bass? We’ve actually jazzed together a few times, and it’s a lot of fun. And he’s supportive and he makes a great cup of coffee and I’m really into him and he likes Kayla.”

Julie pulled her best friend into a tight hug. “I’m sorry, Flynn. You’re _way_ cooler and prettier and funnier and overall better than her, you know.” 

Flynn shrugged. “Tia Victoria said the same thing.”

“How did she know?” Julie asked, pulling away just enough to look Flynn in the eye. 

“Beats me. Tia knows everything, though.” 

Julie laughed as she settled back into their hug. “True. Well, I grabbed ice cream and soda and cookie dough on my way back after lunch, if you wanna wallow a bit. We can even turn on _Love & Basketball, _I grabbed it from home.”

Flynn grinned. “You know me so well. Let’s do it.” 

Julie handed her the DVD. “You put the movie in, I’ll grab the snacks and sodas.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke sees Julie out with some other guy and panics. Alex and Willie try to calm him down and it (sort of) works.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't update yesterday! I've been a little busy of late! Heads up, I probably shan't update tomorrow, either. Things are a bit hectic at work and I've got closing shifts the next couple days, which naturally means my days are super long and I get home super late. But I really hope you enjoy this chapter!! Please comment and let me know what you think!!!!!

  
  


Luke was sitting on the couch with his acoustic, trying to piece together a melody that had been eluding him. 

Reggie started cackling in the kitchen and apparently shared the source of his amusement with Alex, who also started snickering. “Dude. You are  _ so  _ not subtle!” 

Reggie walked into the room and shoved his phone in Luke’s face. “Look what Flynn just sent me!” Apparently she had taken a picture of Luke and Julie sitting next to each other during lunch. 

“So Julie and I sat next to each other for like, ten minutes? Why is that photo-worthy?” Luke asked, trying to be chill about the earnestness of his expression in the photo. Had Julie noticed how he was looking at her? Gosh! Had Ray noticed? Or Carlos? 

Reggie just cackled while Alex responded, “We’re not stupid, and you can’t keep anything off your face.” He rolled his eyes. 

Luke sighed. “Okay, so I’m looking a little intensely at her. Was it really that bad in person?”

“It was worse.”

Luke threw a couch cushion at Alex’s head for that one. 

“The depth of emotion on your face? You were practically shouting that you’re in love with her without using any words.”

“Seriously, you should just ask her out already!” Reggie commented. 

“Guys, you know I can’t! The band! Music is everything!”

“Really Luke? Is music more important than me and Reggie?”

“Well, duh, of course not. But you know what I mean. Dating your bandmates  _ never  _ ends well!” 

“Except when it does!” Reggie replied in a teasing sing-song tone. 

“Yeah, dude. Just think about it, okay? Because you and Julie would be great together,” Alex said thoughtfully. “And it would really suck to deny yourself  _ and her _ something that would make you guys really happy just because you’re worried about the what-ifs.”

“But I don’t know that it  _ would  _ make Julie happy! I don’t know if she likes me, and if she doesn’t, I  _ really  _ don’t want to make things weird! Ya know?” 

Alex and Reggie exchanged looks that did not fly over Luke’s head. “Guys, seriously. If I thought she might like me back, it would be different. But right now, it’s not. So let it be.” 

“Dude, you’re such a disaster,” Alex commented, retreating to his room to complete an assignment and prepare for the week ahead. 

* * *

On Tuesday, since Julie couldn’t practice, Luke and Reggie each picked up an extra shift at work. Of course, Luke’s ended up being earlier in the morning and Reggie’s was later in the afternoon, so after work, Luke offered to come keep him company if things were slow at the coffee shop. 

Luke ran home after work to change before heading over to the coffee shop. He pulled on his favorite blink-182 shirt (obviously without sleeves) and a pair of jeans and dug through his drawers, looking for his favorite hoodie: a dark blue Kings of Leon hoodie his mom had bought for him on his 16th birthday. It wasn’t in the basket of clean laundry he still hadn’t folded. It wasn’t in his dirty laundry hamper or anywhere on the floor. In early October, it was starting to get chilly, so he didn’t want to walk around without anything on his arms, so he shrugged into his comfortable flannel jacket and hopped in his car. 

When he walked up to the coffee shop, he saw Julie through the window, sitting at a table facing away from the door. His heart immediately sped up and he was suddenly in a much better mood. But when he walked through the door, he saw that she was with some goofy-looking blond guy. He felt a little sick. He couldn’t believe Julie would skip out on band practice for a  _ date. _

He shuffled forward to the counter, all while watching Julie gesture and nod at this other guy. The blond guy said something and grimaced, but he heard Julie’s bright laugh across the room. Something in him burst, and he almost turned around and left, but someone said his name. 

“Oh, hey Luke!” Luke finally looked away from Julie and saw Willie and Alex sitting together at the table closest to the counter--the table he usually sat at when Reggie was working. 

“Hey guys! What’s up?” Luke asked, trying to act as normal as possible. 

“We decided to grab coffee together before Willie’s 4:00 living art seminar.”

“Nice, that sounds fun. I think I’m gonna head home. See you guys later…” Luke said awkwardly. 

Alex gave him a slightly pitying look. “You saw Julie, huh?” 

Luke shrugged. “She’s allowed to do whatever she wants.” Luke watched his best friend have a silent conversation with his new boyfriend. Finally, Alex looked back at Luke. 

“Grab a drink and come sit with us. Let’s hang a little, all three of us. You don’t really know Willie, but that should change.” 

He sighed internally. “Yeah, okay.” He stepped up to the counter and rang the bell. Reggie stepped out from the kitchen a moment later. 

“Oh, hey dude! The whole band is here!” 

“Yeah, I noticed,” Luke said sullenly. 

“Ah. You saw Julie with her ex. Sorry dude. But if it makes you feel any better, I don’t think he has  _ nearly  _ as much chemistry with her as you do.”

“That guy’s her ex?” Luke asked, his stomach sinking even more. 

“Nick. They dated when they were like, seventeen.”

“Dang.” 

“Dude, no one died. And I don’t think it’s even a date,” Reggie tried to reassure him, but Luke wasn’t having it. 

“Can I just get a London Fog please? Apparently I’ve been invited to crash Willie and Alex’s date.”

“Cool! Now it won’t be weird for me to hang with you guys too!” Reggie said with a smile. “That’ll be three bucks.”

Luke swiped his card and waited while Reggie steamed the milk for his drink. When Reggie handed it to him, he grabbed it quickly and returned to Alex and Reggie’s table. Someone had moved the open chair so that it faced away from Julie, and Luke internally rolled his eyes. He could handle seeing Julie on a date with someone else. Probably. He grimaced as he glanced over in their direction. Okay, maybe not. He sat down in the open seat. 

“So Luke, Alex tells me starting Sunset Curve was your idea. What made you want to start a rock band?”

Luke smiled at his best friend before answering Willie’s question. “My mom agreed to buy me a guitar and let me take some lessons if I got straight As my first semester of 6th grade. Alex already played drums by then, and I was obsessed with music. It just made sense. Reggie saved up his allowance for like, two years to buy his first bass, and Bobby just asked his dad.” Luke shook his head, remembering the early days fondly. “I can’t believe you guys followed me in my crazy pursuits so often back then. Do you remember when we all tried out for the football team because I suggested it?”

Alex laughed. “You always were our ring leader. We would have followed you anywhere.”

Willie chuckled. “I can’t imagine you playing football, Alex.”

“Yeah, that’s ‘cause I didn’t. I went to tryouts and got pushed down during a drill and broke my arm. Not only did I decide I wouldn’t play sports anymore, I also couldn’t play drums for what felt like forever. I was pretty upset for a while there.”

Luke nodded. “Yeah, I remember that,” he said absently, before turning around to look over his shoulder at Julie and  _ her ex.  _

Alex sighed. “Dude, don’t. Don’t freak out, don’t obsess. In fact, let’s just leave.”

“Yeah. Actually, I have this big showcase for my art midterm. I’d love to show you the pieces I’m displaying. Let’s check out the exhibit,” Willie said, grabbing his backpack. 

“Guys, I’m fine. Really.” 

Reggie popped up over the counter. “You guys should probably just go. He’s gonna obsess.”

“Have you been listening this whole time? Even before Luke showed up?” Alex asked, mildly annoyed. 

“I can always hear what people say at that table, even from the kitchen. I have overheard lots of first dates, lots of break ups, lots of  _ really ugly  _ fights. I try to make lots of noise in the kitchen when that happens, but I can’t seem to drown them out.” He rolled his eyes. “Nothing like working in a coffee shop to make you believe that everyone needs therapy.”

Luke chuckled. 

“Well, let’s head out. I wanna see your work!” Alex said excitedly. 

Luke picked up his drink that he’d barely touched. “Reg, can you pour this in a to go cup for me?”

Reggie tossed him a paper cup. “Here ya go!” 

Luke turned to look at Julie and her ex one more time as he and the guys started leaving. She looked comfortable, but not dressed very nice. Maybe Reg was right and it wasn’t a date. She just had on cute leggings and an oversized blue hoodie. Her hair was up in a messy bun, and she had turned just enough that he could tell she was wearing her glasses instead of contacts. Of course, Luke still thought she looked adorable, but it didn’t look like she was trying very hard. But, he reminded himself, if this guy was an old boyfriend, he’d probably already seen her even more casual than this. Ugh. There was clearly a lot of history there. They seemed very close--“LUKE!” He looked up to see Alex beckoning for him to come. Apparently he’d been staring for longer than he’d realized. 

But apparently Julie heard Alex, too. Even though he wasn’t looking at her anymore, he heard her voice. “Oh my gosh! Guys!” He turned around and she was walking towards them, looking surprised but not upset. She got to Luke first and gave him a quick hug before walking around the table to hug Alex and Willie too. “What’re y'all doing here?” she asked. “Hey! Come meet Nick! I think you’ll really like him!” Luke grimaced, even as Julie pulled him and Alex by the arm over to her table. When they got to the table, the blond goofus stood up. “Nick, these are my other band mates! This is Luke, lead guitar and my main co-songwriter, and this is Alex, our badass drummer and his… boyfriend? Willie.” 

Willie nodded. “Yep, bonafide boyfriend of the hottest member of the band. No offence, Jules!” He held out his hand to Nick. “Nice to meet you!”

Nick smiled and shook the proffered hand. “Nice to meet you too! I’m Nick. Julie and I went to high school together. We were pretty good friends back in the day. We  _ killed it  _ in the music program together! Oh, and remember that time the lacrosse coach made us merge with the dance team for a month? You totally carried me through that whole fiasco! I swear he would have cut me from the team without you!”

Luke was starting to get a little warm and his stomach was churning. He did  _ not  _ want to listen to them rehash the good old days. 

“Nick goes to Vandy; he gave up music completely for the sake of engineering,” Julie said with a grin. “He went to the dark side, clearly.” 

Alex grinned right back. “So, you guys hang out a lot?” he asked casually. 

“Not really. He just wanted a little… advice on something personal, and I naturally suggested the best coffee shop in Nashville to catch up at.”

“Yeah, I owe you big time, Molina!” Nick said with a grin, gently nudging Julie with his elbow. 

“Luke, are you okay? You’re pretty quiet, and your face is kinda red,” Julie asked, a look of warm concern in her eyes. 

“Oh, uh, yeah. Just… long day. I’m pretty beat. I think I’ll head out.” Luke attempted a smile that definitely came out as a grimace. “See you later!” He waved awkwardly as he walked away, mentally kicking himself for being so weird. 

“Yeah, I think Willie and I are gonna go make sure he’s okay,” Luke heard Alex say. “It was great to meet you, Nick! And I’ll see you in class tomorrow, Julie!” 

“Yeah, of course! Text me if it turns out Luke is sick and he needs anything, okay?” 

By then, Luke had made it out the door and couldn’t hear the rest of their conversation. He stopped when he got out the door. Gosh, why was he such a disaster??

Alex and Willie arrived a moment later. “You okay dude?” Alex asked. 

“Yeah I’m fine. Just a total mess and super into a girl who is  _ clearly  _ into someone else. It’s fine.” The guys started walking toward the art building.

Alex caught him with a look of disbelief. “You really think she was into Nick? He’s… goofy. And awkward. Cute, but not Julie’s type, I don’t think.”

Willie nodded. “I didn’t get the vibe that they were on a date. I really think it was nothing. Honestly.” 

“Reggie said they were high school sweethearts or something. They have history. If they’re back in touch, it’s probably only a matter of time before they get back together.” Luke looked dejectedly at his feet. “It’s just as well. Bandmates shouldn’t date. It gets messy.” 

Willie sighed and mumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like “straight people” before giving Luke a pep talk. “Dude. There was no chemistry there. And she decided to take him where one of her best friends works. A guy best friend. She wouldn’t have done that if she was trying to rekindle something. Guy best friends are apparently a huge mess when introducing them to straight boyfriends.” 

“Where in the world did you hear that?” Alex asked. 

“I have sisters. They’ve had a lot of boyfriends between them. It seems to be a universal issue, at least early in relationships. I guess straight guys get jealous of straight best friends.” 

Alex laughed for a moment. “I mean, it makes sense to me. After all, didn’t you tell me you thought there was something weird going on between Reg and Jules the night you met him?”

Willie smirked. “Yeah. But she explained that it was just Reggie being Reggie. I get it now. But in the moment, it seemed like Reggie was jealous of me. Imagine knowingly introducing a guy you liked to someone like  _ that _ on your first date. It’s a terrible idea.” 

“I agree. It was nothing, I’m sure of it.” Alex nodded. “Besides, wasn’t she wearing your Kings of Leon hoodie she borrowed after our gig?”

Luke stopped in his tracks. “Oh my gosh! You’re right! I was just looking for that thing! I can’t believe I didn’t notice!”

Alex snickered. “It's your favorite hoodie. How did you not notice?”

Luke shoved him in retaliation, but he suddenly felt a bit lighter. “She wouldn’t wear another guy’s clothes on a first date,” he said, a realization dawning in his mind. “So it probably wasn’t a date!”

Alex actually face palmed, and Willie just laughed. “Exactly, dude. Now come on, there’s the art building.”

* * *

Even though he had been reassured in the moment, Luke was flooded with doubts when he left Alex and Willie to finish their date in peace. Maybe it wasn’t really his sweatshirt. Maybe she hadn’t realized when she put it on. Maybe she thought Nick wasn’t the type to care or that it would make him jealous (not that Julie was the type to play games like that, but?). Maybe, even though it hadn’t been a date, it would still rekindle old feelings. So naturally he rushed home to work things out through his music. 

When he got back to the house, he immediately grabbed his guitar and his song book and decided to write things out. But as he sat there, he felt like he was drawing a blank. He couldn’t come up with anything. No words. No melody. No song. He just scribbled on the page with his pen. He couldn’t put words together to express his feelings. So he ripped the page out of the book and started playing an old familiar. 

“ Though I've tried before to tell her

Of the feelings I have for her in my heart

Every time that I come near her

I just lose my nerve as I've done from the start

Every little thing she does is magic

Everything she do just turns me on

Even though my life before was tragic

Now I know my love for her goes on…”

He felt a little ridiculous, but using music to process his feelings helped a lot. But still, it wouldn’t do for the guys to come home to him playing a song about unrequited love. So when he finished playing “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic,” he put his guitar away and plugged in his headphones, choosing after a bit of deliberation to listen to this band that Julie had recommended. They had formed at Belmont apparently. Judah and the Lion. He found them on Spotify and hit shuffle, and somehow the first song that came up was about being rejected by a girl in high school. He groaned and immediately skipped to the next song, called “Dance With Ya.” It was a sort of love song too, about a couple working through their problems. He liked it a lot more than he expected, but didn’t really want to listen to a love song. So he skipped again, and apparently this one wasn’t a love song. Finally. So he settled into the vibe of the music as he decided to finally fold his clean laundry. Maybe he’d even pick up all his dirty clothes off the floor. Maybe. 

* * *

Julie hugged Nick goodbye and then immediately texted Alex. 

**Jules🎼:** Hey! Is Luke okay? I was kinda worried about him!

**Alex the best drummer🥁:** Yeah. You know Luke. Nothing keeps him down for long! Not even that one time we had bad street dogs! 

**Jules🎼:** Oh good! I’m glad! Also, please tell me you’ve given up on street dogs after that! 

**Alex the best drummer🥁:** Do you want me to lie?

**Jules🎼:** 🤦🏾‍♀️ I worry so much about you guys already. Didn’t need to add that to the list. 

**Jules🎼:** Anyway, I have a favor to ask of you…

**Alex the best drummer🥁:** Whaddya need?

**Jules🎼:** You know how we have to perform our latest compositions for midterms after Fall Break because Prof. Johnson is cruel and wants us to spend our whole break stressing?

**Alex the best drummer🥁:** Yeah…

**Jules🎼:** I submitted a love song.

**Jules🎼:** That’s also a duet. 

**Jules🎼:** Will you perform it with me??? Please??? 

**Alex the best drummer🥁:** There’s not someone else you can ask?

**Jules🎼:** I mean, if I *have* to, I can adapt it to be a solo. But I’m so proud of it as it is, and I don’t want to change it

**Alex the best drummer🥁:** I better be your absolute favorite of all time. 

**Alex the best drummer🥁:** Email me the music for it and I’ll be ready. 

**Jules🎼:** Oh my gosh I love you!!! You’re the best!! 😘💖🤍

**Jules🎼:** I’m emailing you now! 


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fall Break shenanigans (if these even qualify as shenanigans lol); Julie and Alex perform 'Perfect Harmony' and 'This Band is Back'; Julie and Luke discuss the set list for their upcoming performance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate everyone's patience with me in my updates! Life just gets hectic!! I am also grateful to everyone who's made it this far! I low-key can't believe it! Please comment and let me know what you think!!!

Alex opened the PDF with the sheet music Julie wrote for their comp class. “Dang, this is beautiful!” 

“What is it?” Luke asked from the kitchen. 

“Oh, uh, nothing. Julie asked me to perform with her for midterms in our comp class.”

“So you have one of her songs?” Luke asked, appearing in the doorway. 

“Yeah, but don’t you dare ask me to see it. You know how she is about her music. It’s private until she decides it’s not.” 

Luke pouted. “Fine. But tell her that I wanna hear the big performance of it. See if she’ll agree to record it or something!” 

Alex rolled his eyes. “Whatever, dude.” 

Forty-five minutes later, Alex got another email from Julie, this one had a couple of audio files. He plugged in his headphones and played the first one. It was the piano accompaniment, and it sounded beautiful. The second was the piano playing Alex’s part while Julie sang her part. “Just so you can practice!” the email said. He shot back a quick response. 

“Thanks, Julie! This is incredible! I’ll be ready!” 

* * *

  
  


Fall break was that Thursday and Friday, and Julie was ready for it. She needed a little extra time to just breathe. She planned on spending Thursday at home with her dad and Carlos, and Friday working with Alex on ‘Perfect Harmony.’ She sort of suspected he knew how she felt about Luke, (according to Flynn it’s all over her face, all the time), but she refused to let herself feel weird about performing a romantic duet with the gay best friend of the object of her affections. OK. When she put it like that, she had to feel a little weird about it. But she would get over it. And then Saturday would be spent on homework and Sunday would be normal. She felt like she had a solid plan. 

But on Thursday morning when she got home, her dad had decided to work on some home projects. “The door to the guest room needs a new doorknob, and I wanted to replace the shower head and towel racks in the studio bathroom. Do you mind running to the hardware store for me?”

“Sure, papi, just give me a very specific list and I’ll take care of it!” Julie agreed. 

“Thank you, mija! The list and my credit card are sitting on the kitchen counter!” 

So Julie hopped back in her car and drove to the only hardware store she knew. It was closer to Brentwood than Franklin, but that was okay--it wasn’t so far that it mattered. When she walked into the store, she immediately sought out an employee; she had no idea what she was looking for. And the first person she saw was-- “Luke!” Her attractive band mate had been stacking paint cans near the front of the store, and when he heard his name, he turned quickly around, knocking over a paint can in the process. 

“Julie? What are you doing here?”

She grinned. “Dad decided to do some home projects and sent me to pick up everything he needs. But I need help with this list. I was hoping I could get some help from my friendly neighborhood hardware store associate?”

“Definitely. Let’s see that list!” Julie handed over the piece of paper. “Cool, so he’s replacing a doorknob and installing a couple towel bars?”

“And replacing a shower head, apparently.” 

“I see. But he already has the shower head?”

“I assume so, since it’s not on the list.” 

“Cool. That explains the pipe sealant. Well, we carry every one of these items, so let’s go grab them!” 

“Lead the way, Rockstar!” 

Luke started walking deeper into the store, and Julie followed behind him. “So, who knew you owned shirts with sleeves?” Julie teased, pulling at the sleeve of the grey polo he wore to work. 

Luke rolled his eyes. “Sleeves stifle my energy, but are required in professional and semi-professional environments, apparently.” Julie giggled as they stopped near the middle of the aisle. “Okay, so here’s the doorknob Ray wrote down.” Luke grabbed a doorknob from a collection hanging on the wall. “Next, let’s grab those towel bars for ya.” 

As they walked, Julie decided to change the subject. “Hey, are you feeling better? On Tuesday you looked pretty off. Everything okay?” 

“Oh, uh, yeah. Just needed a little sleep, you know.” Luke rubbed his neck and wouldn’t make eye contact. 

“I’m glad you’re feeling better. I was pretty worried.”

“You know me, nothing can keep me down!” Luke said with mock bravado. “Here we are! Towel bars! This is the one Ray has listed, and it says he wants two of them?”

Julie shrugged. “If that’s what it says, that’s what he wants.”

“So, he doesn’t have it listed, but he may want some wall anchors, just in case. If there aren’t studs where he wants to hang them, he’ll need the anchors to keep the racks securely on the wall.” 

Julie nodded. “Okay, Luke the Tool Man Taylor! Who knew you’re so knowledgeable about home projects?” she joked as he led her to a different section of the store. 

“Was that a 90s reference?” Luke responded. “And for the record, I actually am pretty handy. Our landlady is about 80 and can’t really take care of the house, so I do all the maintenance in exchange for a discount in rent.” He grabbed a small box of wall anchors that should work with the towel racks Ray was installing. 

“It was a 90s reference, I’m glad you got it. And that’s actually kind of impressive. Trevor has someone he pays to do all of our maintenance. Which is great for us, because none of us knows much about plumbing or basic construction.”

Luke laughed. “I’ve always liked working with my hands. Hence the guitar-playing, I guess. But I like that I can do something that has tangible, practical results. Replace the chain in a toilet, unclog a drain, fix a hinge. There’s something satisfying about how concrete the results are.”

Julie nodded. “I understand that. It’s different, I feel that way about writing. The physicality of writing the words on a page, not typing them, feels more real than just saying them sometimes.”

Luke grinned. “You’re a great writer, Jules.” She blushed. “Hey, uh, I know I can be difficult to work with sometimes, but I wanted to tell you that I think you make me a better writer. I tried writing on my own the other day, and I couldn’t come up with anything more than a couple of lines and a C major chord.”

Julie caught his eye and smiled so brightly Luke felt like he might catch fire. “We make each other better,” she said confidently, and Luke thought he might melt at the thought, but he managed to nod, too. 

After a moment of just staring at each other, Luke blushed, flustered. “Uh, we should probably go grab that pipe sealant now.”

“Uh yeah, let’s do it.” He didn’t want to get his hopes up unnecessarily, but it seemed like Julie might have been just as flustered as he was. 

* * *

On Friday, Alex was back from his day trip with Willie to Chattanooga and had agreed to meet Julie at her house to practice her song. He didn’t even knock before walking into the studio-garage where he knew Julie would be waiting. 

“Hey Jules!”

“Alex! How was Chattanooga?” Alex blushed. 

“It was great. We had a lot of fun. Willie and I went to one part of the Aquarium, then we had lunch downtown at this local restaurant, Big River. Then we went to the other half of the Aquarium and Willie bought me this little stuffed otter. Then we grabbed ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s and headed home.”

“Oooh, that sounds like a  _ great  _ date!” Julie agreed.

Alex sighed. “It was perfect.”

Julie let him enjoy that feeling and his reminiscences for a moment before clearing her throat. “So, are you ready to run through ‘Perfect Harmony’ for the first time?” 

Alex turned to her and grinned. “Yeah. It’s a great song. I was really impressed with the depth of emotion you conveyed. It’s clear you’re very  _ passionate  _ about whatever inspired it.”

Julie blushed. “It’s a love song. It has to be passionate.” It was clear that her attempt at casual indifference was failing. 

“Write it about anyone in particular?” Alex asked with a smirk, one eyebrow raised. 

Julie groaned. “Have you been talking to Carrie and Flynn?” 

Alex laughed. “No, but I’m not blind.” Julie leaned her head against the piano. “I do think Reggie has been discussing it with them though.” 

“Ugh. I’ll murder them!” she hissed. 

“Julie, you need to tell him! Get everything out in the open!”

“No! Then it’ll be weird. We’re in a band together! And music means too much to me for me to lose it again.”

“More than love?” Alex asked pointedly. 

“What??” Julie’s face went bright red. “I don’t  _ love  _ him! I’ve known you guys for like two months! Don’t be insane!” 

Alex laughed at how flustered she was. “I didn’t mean that you’re _in_ _love_ with him, just that you could be eventually. Once you get past the questionable fashion sense and his apparent inability to wash a dish, Luke is great. Any girl would be lucky to date him.” Alex paused and noticed Julie’s top. “Although apparently you don’t seem to have a problem with his fashion sense.” 

Julie rolled her eyes when she noticed his pointed glance at the Kings of Leon hoodie she was wearing. “I was cold,” she commented with a shrug. “This was available.”

“Just tell me you haven’t been sleeping with it,” Alex teased, and Julie turned pink again. “No! Julie! I was kidding!”

“I don’t sleep  _ with  _ it, I sleep  _ in  _ it! It’s so cozy!” she replied defensively. 

“And it smells like Luke,” Alex said drily. 

“That’s just a bonus,” Julie sassed back immediately. 

Alex laughed. “You’re ridiculous. Just tell him. He’s going crazy, but he’ll never do it. He thinks you want to be with Nick. Who, by the way, is your ex? What in the world possessed you to date him?” 

Julie grinned. “We were sixteen. He was cute and we were assigned as dance partners. And he played guitar, which was super attractive to me.”

“Luke plays guitar,” Alex pointed out, and Julie rolled her eyes. 

“Thanks, I’ve noticed,” she deadpanned, before continuing. “Nick and I dated for about two months, but it was just casual and when the lacrosse team stopped practicing with the dance team, we didn’t really have all that much time to spend together anymore. I think we lasted a week after that, and we decided it was easier to just be friends. And then Mom got sick and I didn’t really have the emotional energy to date anyway.” She looked back at Alex. “Can we just practice now?”

“Sure. Scoot over.” 

* * *

Julie decided to wear a simple black dress for her performance on Tuesday, and Alex had agreed to wear khaki pants and a button down, even though it totally didn’t fit the vibe of his song. But of course, she had agreed to accompany him for his song, “This Band is Back,” after getting their teacher’s consent, so at least they’d be overdressed together. 

She showed up to class fifteen minutes early, but of course the classroom was still being used by the class before. So she stood in the hall and paced until someone came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped. 

“Hey, you okay?” Alex asked, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this nervous.” 

Julie took a deep breath in and grabbed Alex’s hands. It was a grounding thing. “Yeah, I’m good. This just feels… I’m about to be very vulnerable on that stage.”

“And I’ll be right beside you, probably tapping out a beat for the drums for when we play this as Julie and the Phantoms.”

“‘Perfect Harmony’ doesn’t fit our vibe!” Julie said with a chuckle. 

“Yeah, but as soon as Luke hears it, he’s gonna want to play it. Speaking of, he asked if I would record our performances for him. You know, ‘Perfect Harmony’ and ‘This Band is Back?’ Do you mind?” 

Julie sighed. “I’m surprised he didn’t sneak into one of our practices and just listen in for it.”

Alex laughed. “Is that a yes?” 

She nodded. “But you can’t play it for him until I give you the okay. I think… I should probably figure out a way to make it seem like it’s just a friends thing or something. Or ya know, not about anyone in particular.” 

“Jules, you literally wrote ‘we say we’re friends/we play pretend’ in the lyrics. I don’t think you’ll get away with a ‘just friends,’ line.” 

Julie laughed. “Okay, you might be right. But, give me some time? I’m not ready for Luke to hear it yet.” 

“Of course Julie. It’s your song.”

* * *

Their performance went over incredibly well with their classmates. They sat at the piano together, and Julie looked over at him a few times throughout the song and gave him a small smile of gratitude. And when they finished singing and stepped off stage, Alex handed Julie a bag with a slouchy purple cardigan in it, and he pulled a pink hoodie over his head. “So we look more casual for ‘This Band is Back.’”

“Dude, you’re a genius!” She pulled on her cardigan and grabbed her guitar as Alex pulled his  cajón from the backstage-like area. There was another performance between the two songs, so they had a few minutes to mentally change gears. “It’s really a shame we couldn’t bring the boys in for this song. It would be incredible with more vocal harmonies. You really wrote an incredible song.” 

“Thanks, Jules.” 

“Seriously, we should talk about performing it at this Knoxville Festival in a couple weeks.” 

Alex grinned. “Let’s talk about it  _ after  _ we get graded on it.” 

* * *

Julie had invited Luke to come over to discuss their set list for the Knoxville Fall Music Festival, which was in two and a half weeks. When Luke pulled up to their house, he saw an unfamiliar car there--a really nice car. It was a new-looking shiny black Volkswagen SUV, and suddenly Luke was very self conscious of his old Jeep Grand Cherokee from the 90s. 

He walked up to the house and knocked on the front door even as he opened it. “Hey! It’s Luke!” he called, walking into the house. 

“Hey Luke! We’re in the living room!” Julie called, and Luke paused just a moment to wonder who ‘we’ was made up of. 

When he got to the living room, he saw Carrie, Julie, and Nick, her goofus-y blond ex-boyfriend, all sitting together on the couch. “Luke, you remember Nick, right?”

Luke nodded and swallowed the lump in his throat. “Uh, yeah. Good to see you again.” 

“Yeah, you too!” Nick said enthusiastically. Luke low-key wanted to punch him, but refrained. 

“So, Luke and I have some band business to discuss, do you guys mind if--” Julie said to her companions in an apologetic tone. But before she could even finish her statement, Nick interrupted her. 

“Yeah, no, I actually need to head out anyway. My roommate made me promise to come help him with his calculus homework tonight,” he said, grabbing the backpack sitting next to him on the floor.

“Oh, okay,” Julie said, and Luke thought he detected a hint of a frown. 

_ Does she want him to wait on us to finish up?  _ he wondered to himself. 

“Luke, do you mind if we sit on the porch? Since we’re not actually playing anything today? I thought it might be a nice change.” 

“Yeah, Jules, whatever you want is great.” He felt a sinking in his stomach. Why did everything feel so weird?

“Perfect! Let’s go!” Julie grabbed his arm and pulled him through the house to the porch where she had sat with Emily a few months before. There were blankets laying out, and Luke thought it looked very cozy. They each settled in beneath their own blanket, and Luke couldn’t help but wish they were sharing one instead. But he ignored that thought and pulled his songbook out of his bag. 

“So what were you thinking for the festival? I know you mentioned doing something different in the middle, just to show our versatility.” He was hoping she would finally show him that duet she and Alex had performed the day before.

“Yeah, actually… I had a thought…” Julie trailed off, and Luke was suddenly very worried about what she was going to say next. “You remember when you showed me that song you wrote for your mom?” 

This was not where Luke had expected this to go, and he knew that it showed on his face. 

In one of their first writing sessions, Luke had handed Julie his song book.  _ “Check out the songs I dogeared. I think we could incorporate the piano into these perfectly! And your voice would be killer, obviously!” _

_ Julie opened to ‘Bright.’ “Ooh, I love it!” Then she flipped to the immediate next page.  _

_ “Wait, that one’s not marked!” Luke exclaimed, reaching for his book.  _

_ “Luke, this is great! It’s a sad love song, and I’m here for it!”  _

_ “It’s for my mom,” Luke admitted softly, not looking at Julie. “Things are so… tense and weird between us. They have been for years.” _

_ “I know,” Julie responded, grabbing his hand. “We’re sort of friends, your mom and me. She’s teaching me how to bake.” _

_ “What? When did that happen?” _

_ Julie shrugged. “Before I realized you two were related. We have an agreement that we don’t talk about you unless she starts the conversation. But we have talked about you a little.” _

_ “So you know. That I walked out on her and have barely spoken to her in two years?” Julie nodded. “And you don’t think I’m horrible?” _

_ “Relationships are complicated. Relationships with parents especially so, at times.” She shrugged again. “I hope you two can make up. And if I can help with that, I will. But it’s not my business, and I’ll stay out of it as long as you guys want me to.” _

_ “And you’ll leave the song alone?”  _

_ “Of course, Luke. It’s your song. Yours and hers.” _

Luke remembered feeling relieved that Julie understood, and that she didn’t hate him for willingly avoiding his mom when she would do anything to have hers back, so he was confused that she was bringing it up now. 

“I was just thinking that it’s a gorgeous song, and yes it’s personal, but it’s about not being able to communicate with someone you love, and that’s a theme that resonates with people.”

“I don’t know, Julie. I don’t think I can share it with anyone else until I’ve shared it with her.” 

“So, that’s the other thing, Luke. I see you flip back to it all the time. I can tell you’re itching to share it with your parents. Have you thought about inviting them to a gig and playing it there?”

“Julie, that’s an intense thing to do to a person.”

“So what if you invite them over here and play it for them privately first? I think it would be good for all of you. And I know I said I would stay out of it, and I will, I just thought I might prod you a little and see how you handle it. But seriously, no pressure.” 

“What if… what about sound check? Then they could hear it first, but it wouldn’t be so intimate that it’s intimidating as hell.”

Julie smiled brightly at him. “I think that would work! You should text them right now and invite them to our Knoxville performance! And if they say yes, invite them to sound check! They can even come early if they want and hang out with Dad and Tia and Trevor!”

“Trevor’s gonna be there?” Luke asked, immediately distracted by the potential presence of one of his childhood music idols. 

Julie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, Dirty Candy got booked to perform at the Knoxville Fall Music Festival ages ago! I know I told you this before!” 

“Well you didn’t mention that Trevor Wilson would be coming!” 

“Okay, can we get back on track? You were going to text your folks and invite them to the festival, and also tell them there will be other parents for them to meet and hang out with.”

“Yeah, yeah, okay. What other songs should we perform?”

“Well, I was actually thinking we should write a song specifically for this gig. Songwriting session sometime this week?”

“Dude, you know I’m always up to write a song with you!” He felt like an idiot as the words fell from his mouth, but he couldn’t get them back, and anyway, they were true. 

“Yeah, same,” Julie said with a blush. But then her phone rang. “Crap, I need to take this, do you mind?”

Luke shook his head, and Julie sent him a grateful smile as she picked up. “Carlos, is everything okay? Yeah? And Danny can’t drive? Right, his sister’s accident, she’s got his car now. Yeah, I can come get you guys. Percy Warner Park? Yeah, I’ll be there in fifteen or so. Okay, bye!” She turned back to Luke. “I’m so sorry. Carlos has cross country practice at the park where State happens, and Dad and Tia are both busy, so he needs me to drive him. Do you mind if we finish this later?”

“Yeah, definitely! When is the State meet?” Luke asked. 

“Next weekend, a week before our gig,” Julie said with a smile. “I haven’t been to one of his races yet, so I’m excited to go to this one,” she admitted. 

“Dude, we should all come! Carlos is great!” Luke said excitedly. 

Julie nodded. “He would love the extra spectators, but apparently Cross Country meets are pretty boring. I’m not sure if you’d actually want to go,” she said as she folded up her blanket messily. 

“I’ll talk to the guys, see if we’re all free. At the very least, I wanna come.”

“Okay, yeah, that sounds great,” Julie agreed. “Well, I’ve gotta go. See you later?”

“Definitely!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, quick note: I don't *actually* think that Julie/Luke's plan for sharing 'Unsaid Emily' with Emily is actually a good idea for the real world, but I had this mental image that I couldn't get rid of, so please suspend your disbelief about that! Thank you!


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Julie work on a new song; Julie and Flynn are surprised by one of the spectators at Carlos's cross country meet.

“So tell me your thoughts for what this song should be about that we’re writing for this festival,” Luke said as he mindlessly strummed his guitar. They were sitting in Luke’s garage because Dirty Candy was rehearsing in the girls’ garage. 

“I thought we should write  _ about  _ music. Because music is the reason we’ve become such good friends.” Julie cringed internally at the word ‘friends,’ but she couldn’t think of another word to use in the moment. “Or we could finish this song that Mom and I started, if you want. It’s about standing up for what you believe in, even when you’re alone.” 

“Okay, wow. I am  _ definitely  _ interested in helping you finish the song you and your mom started, if you’re serious about that offer. But also, I’m intrigued by this song-about-music idea. Tell me more.”

“The way we feel about music… it’s a little like falling in love with a person, ya know? At least, that’s how I feel. Like, when you’re in love you just want to be with that person all the time. That person becomes part of your identity. They help you become who you really are--almost freeing you. Music does all that too. What if we wrote a song about that? Like, even if we’re not super explicit about it.”

“Julie, you’re a genius! We write a love song for music!” Luke’s enthusiasm for her idea gave Julie butterflies. Of course, most things Luke did these days gave her butterflies. But still. 

“I have some lyrics already, actually.” Julie held out her purple journal to him, open to a page that had some lyrics that had sort of been a love song about him, not music. Well, about telling him how she felt. But she thought they worked too well for this concept not to be used.

Luke started reading the pieces aloud. “‘Hearts on fire/We’re no liars/So we say what we wanna say... I got a spark in me/Hands up if you can see/And you're a part of me/Hands up if you're with me.’ Julie, these are fantastic!! I love how it’s not explicitly about music, but like, it’s totally there! I kind of like how vague it is! And I can already hear a melody!” He grabbed his guitar and started singing. “Hearts on fire…” As he sang her words and added some of his own, Julie felt her heart nearly burst with pride. It felt so good to know that he got her, that they were on the same wavelength. This was going to be their best song yet, she knew it. 

* * *

The following Saturday, Julie and Flynn headed to Percy Warner Park at a ridiculously early hour. They parked Julie’s car in a gravel parking lot and went out looking for the Franklin High School Cross Country Team’s tent. 

“Wow, there are a  _ lot  _ of schools here,” Flynn commented as she took a sip of her coffee. 

“Yeah, who knew?” Julie agreed. “So Dad texted that they’re set up near the starting line? And it looks like that’s it over there.” She pointed to a wide path that was clearly marked with flags. There was a line of tents, and among them somewhere was her father. So the pair trudged through the grass toward them. They glanced at each maroon-colored tent, hoping it would be the one, until Julie heard a familiar voice. 

“Julie! Flynn! Over here!” Julie and Flynn spun around, and then, having seen who called to them, looked at each other. 

“Did you know he was coming?” Flynn asked her best friend. “Because a heads up would have been nice.” 

“Flynn, I honestly had no idea. I mentioned it to Luke  _ one time  _ and then forgot about it until this moment. I’m so sorry!”

“How did he even know where to come?” Flynn grumbled, even as her smile widened at the excitement of their friend. 

“Hey Reggie! I didn’t expect to see you here!” Julie said as she grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. “Don’t you normally work Saturday mornings?”

He shrugged. “I traded shifts with Claire. I couldn’t miss this! I love cross country!”

Flynn rolled her eyes at him even as he hugged her next. “How does anyone love cross country except the people who are actually running?” she asked with a grin. 

“It’s awesome! I mean, they’ve trained all year for this run! And the Steeplechase at Percy Warner is actually a pretty miserable run. I hated it in high school! But it’s fun to cheer the runners on and watch them cross the finish line!”

“Reg here ran cross country in high school,” Luke explained, walking over from somewhere behind him. “Hey girls! How’s it going?”

“Hey Luke!” Julie pulled him into a long hug, and Flynn and Reggie exchanged smirks. “I low-key can’t believe you’re here!”

Luke laughed. “I told you I wanted to come. We used to come to Reggie’s meets in high school, and I miss it a little.” He released Julie and gave Flynn a much quicker hug. “You guys looking for the Franklin High tent?”

“Well, what else would we be looking for?” Julie sassed, and Flynn saw a dopey grin appear on Luke’s face. She rolled her eyes. 

“Well, it’s just over this way! Come on!” Luke grabbed Julie’s hand and started pulling her in the direction they had already come from. 

Flynn looked at Reggie, and he met her smirk with one of his own. 

“When are those two gonna come out with it?! It’s obvious they like each other!” 

Flynn laughed and nodded. “I know! Did you hear the love song she wrote about him? It’s gorgeous and kind of intense!” 

Reggie shook his head. “Alex is insistent--Julie’s privacy is sacred. So I haven’t heard it yet, but I’ve heard  _ about _ it. And Alex loves it.” 

They followed after their ridiculous friends at a much slower pace, and so weren’t worried about being overheard. 

“They should just talk about their feelings! This is getting a little ridiculous!” Flynn exclaimed vehemently. 

“Woah. Flynn, you okay?” Reggie asked. Flynn blushed. 

“Julie’s just been through a lot, and Luke makes her really happy. It seems like she’s avoiding something that would make her even happier for the sake of the band.”

Reggie nodded. “Yeah, I get that. But honestly, I think they’re almost there. I mean, Julie knows, right? About Luke’s feelings?”

“Yeah, I think so. She said Alex mentioned it when they were rehearsing ‘Perfect Harmony.’ But I’m not sure how seriously she took him.”

Reggie rolled his eyes. “Eventually, one of them will get it through their thick skull and say something to the other.”

“They better,” Flynn huffed, even as she watched them fondly as fifty feet ahead, Luke randomly pulled Julie into a dance posture and started waltzing her around. 

“Hey.” Reggie grabbed Flynn’s hand to stop her walking. “People who are meant to be together always end up together.” Reggie was staring deeply into Flynn’s eyes and she took a deep breath. 

“You really believe that?” she asked quietly. 

“No doubt in my mind,” Reggie replied with incredible confidence. She felt herself melt a little. Damn those gorgeous blue-grey eyes. After a moment, he blushed and started walking towards their friends, pulling her along from where their hands were still connected. “C’mon. Let’s catch up to those goobers.” 

* * *

Reggie was a little surprised at his internal response to Flynn. She’d always been comfortable for him, even from the night they met, but at the state meet, looking into her eyes while holding her hand, he felt his heart begin to race. The vulnerability that had flashed in her eyes when she asked him if he really believed--it caught him off guard. She had always seemed so confident and independent, but in that moment she looked… less independent Supergirl and more Julia Roberts at the end of that rom com with Hugh Grant??? The whole ‘I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy…’ thing his coworker Ella talked about all the time. (She’d made him watch that clip on YouTube once. That’s all. Honest.) For just that split second, it was like she didn’t want to just be comfortably single forever, which is sort of the vibe he’d gotten from her in the past. 

He suddenly noticed that he was still holding her hand, so he let it go quickly, feeling super unsure of his own feelings. But then they got to the Franklin High tent and Carlos jumped up from where he was sitting on the ground. “Reggie! Flynn! Dad said you guys were here, but I only saw those two weirdos,” he waved his hand in the general direction of Luke and Julie, who looked like they were discussing their new song. At least, Julie had pulled her purple notebook from her purse and was showing Luke something she’d written there. 

“Dude, I would never miss this!!” Reggie said, doing the handshake Carlos had taught him at Sunday lunch. 

“I knew you were the cool one,” Carlos said, and Flynn laughed. “Just like Flynn here.  _ Way  _ cooler than Carrie or my sister!” 

“Just don’t tell the others!” she responded conspiratorially. 

* * *

That afternoon, Kayla came into the coffee shop while Reggie was on shift. It had been a pretty quiet afternoon, with just a few college kids in to study in relative peace or to escape unpleasant roommates for a bit (it was amazing how much some people were willing to share with the stranger who makes their coffee). When she walked in with her hair carefully curled and wearing a short skirt and heels, Reggie knew Luke had been right--Kayla was  _ definitely  _ into him. 

“Hi Reggie! How’s it going?” she asked as she walked up to the counter. 

“Kayla! Hey! I’m good! How about you?” 

“Oh, I’m exhausted! Carrie had us working on our set for the festival next week  _ all morning!  _ But it’ll be worth it, because a bunch of record execs are gonna be there, according to Trevor.”

“Yeah? We had no idea! You know, we’re playing that festival too!” Reggie said excitedly. 

Kayla laughed. “Of course I knew! Carrie keeps us apprised of all of the latest goings on with Julie and the Phantoms!”

“Cool!” Reggie smiled and nodded, hoping she would keep talking because he didn’t know what else to say. And of course, she didn’t disappoint. 

“So Carrie says you guys are debuting some new stuff. That should be good, right? Will you be singing much?”

Reggie shrugged. “We are playing some new stuff, but I mostly sing backup, which is what I like. I much prefer jamming on my bass, or plucking my banjo, or improv-ing with my upright. I’m not much of a singer.”

“Well, I’d love to hear you sing sometime, anyway. I think you’ve got a great voice!” 

“Yeah, thanks Kayla. All you girls in Dirty Candy are fantastic singers, too.” 

She smiled and batted her lashes at him. “Thanks, Reggie. Speaking of, Jasmine made me promise to help her study this afternoon, so I should probably head out. Can I get a nonfat soy latte with a pump of hazelnut?” He was a little surprised she was just going to study with someone. Julie, Flynn, and Alex always looked more comfortable than cute when he found them studying (often together) at one of their houses. Even Carrie looked more chill than this when he found her doing school work. He had expected Kayla to at least be  _ doing _ something. But whatever. 

“Coming right up!” Reggie said, giving her his most charming smile. He turned around to make her drink, glad he didn’t have to keep talking while he worked. After a few minutes, he turned and handed Kayla her to go cup. “Here you go! It’s $4.25!”

She swiped her card and smiled coyly at him. “I’ll see you around, Rockstar,” she said over her shoulder as she walked out. 

Reggie only realized that he had been a bit stressed by Kayla’s presence when she walked out the door and he breathed a sigh of relief. 

“What, is she your ex or something? Or maybe one of your friends’ exes? You seemed a little tense there,” commented the girl sitting at the table nearest to the counter who had claimed to be here to study for her Engineering Fundamentals exam. 

Reggie laughed a little. “Nah, just not someone I’m super comfortable with, apparently.” 

* * *

On Sunday, Julie and Emily made Earl Grey shortbread cookies.

“The nice thing about this recipe is that you just dump all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse it until the dough clumps together,” Emily explained as they pulled ingredients out of the pantry. “Sometimes you just want an easy cookie with a quick cleanup.” 

“Yeah, life gets hectic sometimes,” Julie agreed. 

“Yes, I suppose you have a lot to do to prepare for next weekend?” Emily asked. 

“Sort of. We’re playing a few new songs, so we just have to fine tune them, make sure they’re really solid.” There was a moment’s pause before Julie continued. “Luke told me you and Mitch agreed to come. I’m really excited you’re gonna be there.”

Emily smiled at the girl. “He’s never invited us to a performance before.”

Julie internally rolled her eyes at Luke. Of course he hadn’t. “Well, there’s a first time for everything. And hey, this means you’ll get to meet my Dad and my Aunt Victoria.”

“Oh really? Luke didn’t mention that. I’d really like that a lot.”

“Me too! I know most people aren’t crazy about it, but I kind of like when my different circles of life meet. And I really think Dad and Tia will like you guys. They love Luke. He’s been to a couple of our family Sunday lunches, and Dad keeps talking about how great he and Alex and Reggie are. Can’t get enough of them, really.” She laughed. “I’ve been joking that he likes them better than me.” 

Emily laughed too. “My dad used to hire a couple of boys from down the road to help out on the farm. I grew up on a farm, you know. And he  _ loved  _ having them around. He loved my sister and I deeply, but getting to help boys become men was a joyful experience for him.” 

Julie nodded. “Yeah, that’s sort of how my mom was and definitely how Tia Victoria is. Mom basically adopted Flynn as her second daughter, and Tia still treats us like we’re her kids.”

“Now remind me again what your Aunt does for a living?” Emily asked as they poured the flour into the food processor. 

“Tia Victoria is a nurse. She works at the hospital, mostly in the Neonatal ICU, although she fills in at the ER sometimes. But she loves babies.” 

“Wow. I imagine she must really feel called to her work. Healthcare work can be very taxing, I think.”

Julie nodded as she poured in the tea leaves. “She really loves what she does. And she loves that she gets to help sick babies grow into strong children.” 

“Well, she sounds like a wonderful woman. I look forward to meeting her.” 

“Yeah, me too! I’m also really excited to hear what you think of our music! I think you’ll like it!”

“I’m sure I will, dear. After all, each of you is incredibly dear to Mitch and me. That’s enough for us to love it.” 

Julie smiled. “You sound like Dad. Mom on the other hand used to say, ‘I will always love you, even if I don’t love your sound. But that doesn’t make it bad. If you love it, that’s what matters most.’”

“Your mother took music very seriously,” Emily commented. 

Julie nodded. “Music was her everything, after her family. And she wanted us to know that different taste is okay. As long as  _ we _ liked our music, that was always what mattered most.”

“I imagine that was hard sometimes, if she didn’t like your music?” 

“Yeah, but it taught me to love my music regardless of anyone else’s opinion.” Julie shrugged. “That was worth it.” 

Emily nodded. “I believe that.” She looked down at the recipe. “Yes, now that our dough has formed, we wrap it in wax paper, roll it into a log, and stick it in the freezer for fifteen minutes.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The band goes to Knoxville. There are reunions and first meetings, and Julie and the Phantoms has their soundcheck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh!! I'm so excited to share this chapter with you guys!! I'm sorry it's been a couple days since my last update, but life has been hectic, and there are no signs of it slowing, so it may be a couple more before my next update. But I'm so grateful for your patience and your encouragement!! I hope you like this chapter!! Definitely let me know!!

The week had flown by, and Julie was a complete bundle of nerves for the drive to Knoxville. But she and Alex and Reggie and Luke and Flynn piled into Reggie’s van with all their instruments and duffel bags and headed out early Saturday morning. The group was all feeling the energy and nerves of the moment, so Flynn tried to distract them all with stories about the ridiculous things she’d seen at frat parties and the stupidity of some of her classmates in her PR class. And then she tried the latest episode of the Office Ladies podcast, but of course that didn’t last long enough, so then she finally turned on  _ Life Among Thorns,  _ the only album released by Rose and the Petal Pushers. Somehow, that simultaneously calmed Julie down and hyped her up. And the boys totally jammed. 

When they got to Knoxville, Julie insisted they check into their hotel first. Ray had gifted them with two rooms in a hotel less than five minutes from the festival so they wouldn’t have to drive back to Nashville after they performed and would be able to stay for Dirty Candy’s performance on Sunday, and to just enjoy the festival, of course. 

“Hi, I have a reservation. Two rooms under the name Julie Molina?” Julie said to the person at the desk. 

“Hi sweetie, I’m just gonna need your ID and your confirmation number.” Julie handed the woman her license and pulled up the email confirmation Ray had sent her. She showed it to the woman as well. 

“Thank you. OK, so unfortunately with the Fall Music Festival this weekend, we’re booked pretty full, so we couldn’t keep your rooms together. You are on the same floor, but on opposite ends of the building, unfortunately. Your rooms are 317, which has two queen beds and 395, which has two king beds.”

“Okay, great! Thank you!” Julie said, signing the receipt she was handed and taking the offered keys. 

“The elevator is just over there, and if you have any questions about things to do in Knoxville, just let me know!” 

“Thanks, I will!” Julie turned to her friends, who were waiting awkwardly ten feet behind her. “OK guys, our rooms aren’t together. This is the guys,” she handed the boys the envelope with their room keys, “and this is me and Flynn. I say we settle in and meet in me and Flynn’s room in fifteen? We’re room 317.”

“Cool, let’s do it!” Luke said, handing Julie her duffel bag with a grin. 

* * *

The group gathered in Flynn and Julie’s hotel room and decided to look up some good lunch places before heading out. They decided to grab pizza at a restaurant called The Tomato Head, because it was right next to the coffee shop where they would be meeting their families. They ate as quickly as possible and then rushed to meet the Pattersons and Ray before sound check.

They rushed over to Coffee and Chocolate, the coffee shop they had found online which was their agreed upon meeting place, and were unsurprised to find Emily and Mitch already there, sipping on to-go cups and quietly chatting. “Emily! Hey!” Julie called, waving excitedly. Luke saw her face brighten the moment she saw his parents, and he almost lost his cool. 

“I can’t believe this is actually happening!” he whispered under his breath to Alex as Reggie and the girls made their way over to the small table where his parents sat. 

“This is good, Luke. Remember that.” Alex said, squeezing his friend’s shoulder before gently pushing him toward the table. 

“Hey Mom, Dad,” Luke said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Honey, we’re so excited to get to hear you perform. We were talking about it, I don’t think we’ve ever seen a real performance from your band, even when you guys were Sunset Curve with Bobby.”

“Yeah… I guess we didn’t perform much back then…” Luke trailed off, feeling super unsure of what to say next. 

“Well, Julie tells me that you two have been writing songs together. I really look forward to hearing them.”

Julie gave Luke an encouraging smile, and it gave him a small boost of confidence. “Yeah, I’m excited to hear what you guys think.” 

His dad smiled at him, and Luke was a little surprised. He sort of thought his dad was only there because his mom had requested it. “It’s been years since I’ve been to a live concert, and I have to admit I’m looking forward to it.”

“Papi!” Julie exclaimed rushing toward the door. “Carlos! Tia! You’re here!” Luke watched her run into Ray’s arms and couldn’t hide the slightly dopey grin that he knew was forming on his face. He loved how enthusiastic Julie was about her people, especially her family. He watched her drag them over to his parents. “Dad, Tia, Carlos, meet Emily and Mitch Patterson, Luke’s parents. Emily, Mitch, this is my dad Ray, my aunt Victoria, and my little brother Carlos.”

Ray held out his hand to Mitch. “It’s nice to meet you both. Julie has said the most wonderful things about you two. She says you’re like family to her, which means you’re family to us too!” 

Luke was a little surprised to hear that Julie described his parents that way, but only for a moment. After all, this was Julie Molina, the girl with the biggest heart of anyone he’d ever known. 

“Oh, we’re so glad to meet you as well. Julie talks about her family all the time!” Emily responded as she also shook hands with Ray. 

Luke chuckled at the surprise on his mom’s face when Victoria pulled her into a hug and said something quietly in her ear, but when she smiled softly and tightened the hug for a moment, he wondered what Victoria had said. 

“Hey, um, I hate to break up this meeting, but I think we should head to sound check,” Alex said, holding up his phone. “We’ve only got twenty minutes to go get our gear and check in.” 

“My car is right over there!” Ray pointed out a side window to his car parked on the street. “I’ll drive you guys over to get the van. Everything’s in there, right?” 

“Thanks, Dad, but we’re parked not far from here. We just have to lug all our equipment over to the stage.”

“Well at least let us help!” Victoria said with a smile. “And after your sound check, I want to come back here. Ray, did you see they have coconut rum truffles? I think we need to get a few, in honor of Rose.” 

Ray’s face lit up, and Luke could see how much the man still loved his wife even so long after she’d passed. “Absolutely, Tori! In fact, here’s my card, buy enough for all of us to have one, and Carlos and I will go help the kids with their instruments and things.” 

Victoria refused his card. “I’ve got this one, Ray. You go on!”

* * *

They managed to get checked in and set up at the outdoor stage just in time for sound check. From her spot at the piano, Julie leaned forward to lean into the mic to speak to the engineer. “We’ve got two songs we wanted to use for sound check, if that’s alright.” 

The guy in the back gave her a thumbs up, so Julie turned to the guys. “Bright first?” They nodded, so she hit her opening notes on the piano. 

“Sometimes I think I’m falling down

I wanna cry, I’m calling out

For one more try, to feel alive

And when I feel lost and alone

I know that I can make it home

Fight through the dark and find the spark...” 

Even though it was just a sound check, Julie was already getting hyped up for the real performance. They acclimated quickly to this stage, and it was obvious to her that the whole band was excited to perform this song again. 

The sound engineer had a couple of comments for them, but all in all, that first part of sound check went well. When they had finished, Julie looked over to Luke. “It’s all you, Luke. You’ve got this.” 

Luke took a deep breath before stepping up to his mic. “This song’s called Unsaid Emily.”

He heard his mom’s sharp intake of breath, but he couldn’t look at her, not yet. So he started the song. 

“First things first

We start the scene in reverse

All of the lines rehearsed

Disappeared from my mind…” 

Luke could feel the tears falling down his cheeks, but his voice was surprisingly steady. He glanced over at Julie, who smiled at him and nodded encouragingly as she came in on piano. Even still, he noticed the tears in her eyes too. 

“ If I could take us back

If I could just do that

And write in every empty space

The words I love you in replace

Then maybe time would not erase me”

Luke heard his mom gasp at that line, and he finally glanced over to her. His dad had wrapped his arms around her, and they were both crying softly. 

“If you could only know

I never let you go

And the words I most regret

Are the ones I never meant to leave

Unsaid Emily”

At that point he heard her sob, but she hadn’t left yet, which he took as a good sign, until the engineer stopped them. 

“I think you folks need a minute, and I need a bathroom break. We’ll finish in five?” the guy asked without even glancing back as he walked away. 

Luke fumbled with his guitar, trying to put it on a stand until Reggie saved him by coming over and just grabbing the instrument from him. Luke ran off the stage and headed straight for his parents. He reached like he was going to hug her, and then hesitated and just grabbed her hand instead. “Hey, are you okay? I’m sorry, I should have found a better time, but this was kind of the sweet spot for me, because I really needed Julie and the guys to help me, but it wasn’t like I was singing for a crowd, it was just you and Dad, and well, OK Ray and Tia and Carlos and Flynn as well, and the engineer, and whoever else has been through here, but please tell me you’re okay, that we’re okay, or at least we’re going to be?”

When he finally took a breath, his parents simultaneously pulled him into a hug, and all three of them were crying together. 

“We’ve missed you so much, son,” Mitch said quietly after a moment, and Emily kissed Luke’s cheek. 

“We have thought about you every day. I’m sorry about all of the fights. We wanted what’s best for you, we just didn’t know that this could be it.”

“I’m sorry too, Mom, Dad. I was always stubborn and rude and difficult. I wouldn’t listen to you about anything. I know you were only trying to look out for me.” 

“I didn’t know how good you are, truly, or I never would have tried to stop you,” Mitch said. 

“Or what the appeal really was for you. Well, until Julie.” Emily turned her head, and Luke glanced past her to see Julie crying into a tissue surrounded by Alex and Reggie and Flynn and her family, everyone surreptitiously looking at the Pattersons. And if Ray was crying a little too, well, Luke would never mention it to anyone. 

He gave the group of them a peaceful smile. “Yeah, Julie’s been a real life-saver on more than one occasion.” 

The gruff voice of the sound engineer was suddenly back. “Alrighty, y’all, let’s go ahead and finish this one up. I need y’all to run through that second song again all the way through, then when we’ve taken care of it, I want you to do the first verse and chorus of your first song again. Sound good?” 

Julie smiled at the guy as she headed back on stage. “Yessir, thanks!”

They did as the engineer requested and ran through ‘Unsaid Emily’ again as he tweaked the sound until he was satisfied. Near the end of their last run-through of the song, Carrie showed up with dweeby blond Nick and--holycrapTREVORWILSON. Somehow, Luke managed to keep his cool, but he definitely exchanged excited glances with Reggie and Alex. When Julie caught sight of them, he saw her roll her eyes and smile fondly at them. Carrie and her companions joined Flynn and their families near the stage, and Luke couldn’t believe that  _ Trevor Wilson _ was listening to  _ his _ music!

He almost forgot that they were supposed to start ‘Bright’ again, until Julie started playing the opening notes of the song, which quickly brought him back to the sound check. 

When they had finally finished, the band set down their instruments (they were the first performance on this stage, so they wouldn’t need to take anything from the stage, thank goodness) and had a quick band circle. 

“Guys, we’re gonna crush this show! We were incredible!!” Julie said, but she noticed that none of them was paying attention. “And now, can I introduce you guys to Trevor?”

Reggie nodded excitedly and so earnestly Julie almost felt bad for her slight annoyance with them. So she led them over to where Trevor and Carrie were talking to Flynn. It registered somewhere in her head that Nick was talking to her dad, and she made a mental note to remind him not to revert to his high school self when he got nervous. 

“Hey Trevor! Can I introduce my bandmates to you?” Julie walked up to them, giving Trevor a quick hug. 

“Julie! Definitely! I’ve heard a lot about you guys. You’re Reggie, right?” Trevor asked, holding out his hand to the starstruck bassist. “Carrie and Flynn have said a lot of great things about you, including that you’re a talented jazz musician? I dabble in jazz a little myself, I’d love to hear you play sometime.”

“Uh, y-yeah, totally!” Reggie stammered a little as he shook Trevor’s hand. 

“Ah, and Alex, the hot drummer with the hot boyfriend, right?” Trevor asked. 

Alex blushed. “Yeah. Willie’s driving up later. He had this big art show this morning.”

“Well good, I was hoping I would meet him too. Carrie tells me you’re the responsible one of the bunch.” 

“I try, sir.”

Trevor laughed. “Just as long as someone’s there to help Julie rein in the others. I know enough about jazz musicians and guitar players, and I definitely know Julie; she’s just like her mother.”

Alex shrugged. “I’m not sure anyone can rein in Reggie, but we all do our best.”

“So you’re Luke,” Trevor said with a grin as he shook the guitar player’s hand. “I’ve heard an awful lot about you. Apparently you’re a writer too? Carrie says you’re pretty good. And really, if you wrote the songs I just heard, she was underselling you.”

Carrie shrugged from beside him. “I had to let you decide for yourself,” she said in a bored tone. But Luke didn’t miss the spark of humor in her eyes. “But I’m glad you approve of them. It beats the alternative, anyway.” 

Julie, having introduced the boys to their idol, stepped back and tried to sneak off. But Luke followed her. 

“So, hey, thanks for making me invite my parents, and for getting me to perform ‘Unsaid Emily.’ I haven’t had many regrets in my life except running out on them, I couldn’t have done it without you. So thank you.”

Julie faced him and gave him that giant smile that always made his stomach flip. “I was happy to play a small role in the process. You did all the hard work, though. Besides, you’ve helped me feel more connected to my mom, so it’s only right I do what I can to return the favor.” 

They were very close together and looking into each other’s eyes, and Luke suddenly felt  _ so _ sure that Julie did have feelings for him. He brushed a curl back from her face, and heard her quick inhale. But her smile widened. Before he could say or do anything else, her phone started ringing, and she laughed and pulled away from him for a moment to check on it. 

She ignored the call. “Sorry, spam call,” she said with a faint blush as she shoved her phone back into her back pocket. 

“So, this is an interesting little relationship you and I have,” Luke said, trying to be calm but also finally say something. But before Julie could respond, someone called her name from the direction of their friends. 

“Julie!” Nick was walking over to them, and Luke felt like an idiot. Right. Her ex-boyfriend was here, and he had been totally schmoozing Ray earlier, which was definitely a sign that he was trying to get her back. He wanted to kick something. He saw Carrie and Flynn watching, and Flynn face palmed, which would almost have been funny if he hadn’t thought she was face palming because of him.

“Uh, hey Nick, what’s up?” Julie asked, and Luke found a little hope in the fact that she sounded a bit annoyed. 

“Sorry to interrupt, but Carrie and Trevor and I are gonna go find the rest of Dirty Candy. I just wanted to tell you that you were  _ amazing  _ before we left _ , _ ” the guy gushed, and Luke was surprised to see Julie blush. Maybe she liked him after all. 

“Thanks, Nick. It was super cool of you to come hear us.”

“Yeah, no way was I missing this.  _ Two  _ girls I went to high school with in two different bands are playing a festival? Like, you guys are gonna be famous!” 

“Well, we’ll see what happens,” Julie said modestly. “You should probably get back to Carrie, she looks ready to go.”

“Right! Yes. Thank you!” Nick nodded and smiled widely at her, almost as though they were sharing a private joke or secret between them. Luke hated that stupid smile. “I’ll see you later!” And Nick turned and jogged back to Carrie. 

Flynn waved Luke and Julie over to the rest of the group too. “Guys, you need to get ready. You go on in an hour! Jules, your dress and make up are in this bag, guys, I was told what you’ve got on now is what you plan on wearing for the performance?”

Alex, Luke, and Reggie looked each other over before nodding. “Yep,” they said in unison. 

“Great. Well, Jules and I are gonna go make her stage-ready. We’ll be back in a bit!” And Flynn dragged Julie away. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, if you're at all familiar with Knoxville, sorry this doesn't really make sense geographically. I took some liberties. But I hope you enjoyed this chapter anyway!


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The big Knoxville gig in all its glory!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, we're so close to the end of this story, and I have lots of feelings about it! I hope it brings you joy! Comment and let me know what you think of this chapter!

Julie made it back to the guys with twenty minutes to spare before the show. And unlike their first performance, Julie obviously had no hesitations about getting on stage. When it was time, she walked out confidently, and Reggie was so proud of her. 

Flynn had mentioned to him (in confidence) how panicked she had been before their first show, so he was relieved to see how comfortable she seemed, strutting up to her keyboard like she owned that stage. 

He heard her say something, and then Luke made a comment and glanced over to her, which made Reggie smile. Finally, Julie started playing, and it was like suddenly, everything was right with the world. 

Nothing had ever made Reggie feel as seen as playing music. With parents who never paid him much attention, sometimes Reggie thought he spent his whole life just looking for someone to know him. But playing music, especially with these people, always felt right. He moved to the music as Julie sang words that fed his soul:

“And rise through the night

You and I we will fight to shine together

Bright forever!”

As Luke took the second chorus, Julie turned to Reggie and danced with him, and Reggie moved right along with her. It felt right, somehow, having Julie in the band. He’d known it since their first rehearsal, but it was especially obvious to him now. 

Reggie hopped across the stage to share Luke’s mic for the pre-chorus. “Together I think that we can make it, come on let’s run!” He really believed those words. They were family, and they were going to make it together. 

As he moved back to his normal spot, out of the corner of his eye, Reggie caught Flynn jamming just to the right (from his perspective) of the stage, close to him. He turned to look at her, and she blew him a kiss. He felt a weird swooping in his stomach, and without thinking, he did his favorite onstage move: he stepped onto Alex’s drum platform and played for a second, always moving to the rhythm, before jumping off in his best rockstar move. Flynn whistled, along with a few screams from some other girls, and Reggie was suddenly very aware that he was paying Flynn a bit more attention than normal. He decided to think that over later, but enjoyed giving her a little extra love from the stage anyway. 

While Julie and Luke did their favorite mic-sharing move near the end of the song, Reggie sent Flynn a little wink, and she responded with a knowing smirk as she snapped a quick picture with her phone. He tried to use his facial expression to tell her to send it to him, and she nodded. Gosh, he was glad to have her in his life. They really were gonna make it together, all of them.

* * *

Ray was standing near the front of the crowd and to the right-ish of the stage, near where Luke’s microphone was set up, not that he used it much. Ray had noticed how Luke and Julie looked at each other the day he’d met the boys, but apparently performing seemed to exacerbate the issue, particularly when they shared Julie’s mic. 

After they’d finished performing their first song, Julie quickly stepped back to her keyboard. “My mom and I started writing this song together, and I’d like to dedicate it to her, and the rest of my family--my family by blood and my family by choice.” Julie’s eyes looked out over the crowd, and Ray watched her nod quickly at Flynn, Carrie and Trevor, and lastly stop on him and Carlos and Tori. He smiled and saw Tori blow him a kiss. Julie’s smile softened for just a moment before she turned to the guys in her band. 

“Don’t blink, no I don’t wanna miss it

One thing and it’s back to the beginning…” 

Ray couldn’t help but think how grown up his little girl had become. He remembered dancing around the kitchen with her in his arms, no more than a year old. He remembered her in princess dresses and plastic tiaras. He remembered her first piano lesson with Rose after begging for weeks. She reminded him so much of Rose. Especially up there on that stage, wearing that beautiful turquoise color that Rose had always favored. 

“Whatever happens even if I’m the last standing

Imma stand tall, Imma stand tall

Whatever happens even when everything’s down

Imma stand tall, Imma stand tall…”

He remembered Rose and Julie working on this song. Rose had just told Julie that she was sick, but they didn’t know just how sick she was yet. Rose had suspected, but she hadn’t wanted to worry her children unnecessarily. This chorus was one of Rose’s favorites, she’d told him. _“I hope it sticks with her, mi alma. I think she’ll need it.”_ Clearly it had stuck with her, and it really came home for him when she sang the whole first verse alone on the piano, and none of the guys did anything with their instruments. He could almost see the pain in Julie’s eyes, playing this song she’d started writing with her mother, who wasn’t there to help her play it. 

Alex was the first to come in, and as he did, he watched Julie’s eyes flicker over to him and she smiled. It looked as though she’d almost forgotten she wasn’t really alone on that stage, and Alex’s beats and accompanying grin had reassured her. Reggie came in next as she started the second verse and danced with her just a little. And then came Luke. As he came in both on guitar and vocals, Ray watched Julie’s face light up. It struck him how much Julie clearly loved each of them. They created their own little family with that band. He was so proud of her for finding her place and her people. 

The song was better than he remembered it being when she and Rose were still working on it, which of course made sense. It was finished now, polished. And Ray thought the guitar/bass/drums/piano sound really worked for it. 

Ray watched his daughter dance around the stage, going from Luke to Reggie to Alex, dancing with her guys. It was obvious they loved her just as much as she loved them, and Ray was struck with an overwhelming gratitude for their presence in her life. When she and Reggie stood back to back during the bridge, Ray felt his breath catch. It was just like a moment between Rose and Trevor on stage so many years ago, and that friendship had been sweet and deep and long lasting. He hoped for the same sort of friendship for his daughter and these boys. 

In the chorus after the bridge, when the instruments went silent and Alex and Reggie each sang a line, Ray was impressed. All of them were incredibly talented. And it was a powerful moment. The end of the song was intense, and Ray didn’t know how they would ever follow it with anything, but somehow they managed. 

* * *

Emily had talked to Julie about Luke several times. It had always been clear that Julie was fond of Luke, but seeing them together today, well, clearly there was more than fondness between them, and it was certainly not one-sided. Her son was smitten with this girl next door. She’d seen it as soon as she saw them together in that coffee shop earlier. Luke had looked so uncertain, and then he saw Julie and he was resolved to talking to his parents. And when Julie had run to her father and thrown herself into his arms, the look on Luke’s face nearly melted Emily to a puddle; it was adorable. 

And it was just as obvious to her that Julie really liked Luke too. The way she looked at him, encouraged him, smiled at him. Neither of them was very subtle. When she first saw them together, Emily had thought they were dating, especially after whatever had passed between them on stage during the sound check. But the way they sort of reached for each other but never really touched, it told Emily that they hadn’t started dating yet. But she was hopeful, especially after what Julie’s aunt had whispered in her ear. _“You and your husband and especially your son mean the world to my niece. My sister would have loved you.”_ Emily knew they would find their way to each other soon. Just like she and Mitch had so many years ago. 

When Luke started playing ‘Unsaid Emily’ on stage in front of a crowd, everyone went silent. It was incredible to see people so moved by her son’s music. She leaned toward her husband and stood on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear, “Luke has a gift.”

Mitch nodded, tears in his eyes. “I know. I wish we’d seen it sooner.” Emily squeezed his hand in agreement. 

The song was beautiful, but it broke her heart to hear the sorrow her son had felt. She was haunted by the line “Then maybe time would not erase me.” As if any disagreements or length of separation could ever keep him out of her mind or heart. The fact that he’d thought that perhaps it had made her want to weep. 

When Luke sang “Who’d be the first to break?/Guess we’re alike that way,” Emily nodded just barely. The Pattersons were all incredibly stubborn and proud. She knew it was part of her upbringing, and Mitch had always been that way too. Of course their son would grow up with a double dose of it. She was glad Julie had walked into their lives, because Emily didn’t think she would be standing here, listening to her son’s beautiful music without her. After all, it had been Julie who had encouraged her to invite Luke to dinner two months ago, and she was relatively certain (she couldn’t be 100% sure, but it seemed the most logical explanation) that it had been Julie who encouraged Luke to invite his parents to the show. 

As Luke went into the final chorus, he looked over to Julie and smiled just a little. Emily wasn’t surprised; it was like there was gravity between them. The crowd was still entranced by the music when it ended, and everyone burst into enthusiastic applause. Emily felt like she would burst with pride for her son. His music impacted all of these people; it was incredible. The crowd had been inspired by the first two songs, and they were moved to tears in this one. Emily couldn’t wait to see what was coming up next. 

* * *

After ‘Unsaid Emily,’ Alex could tell the band and the crowd were both ready for something a little more lighthearted. So he was excited, if also a bit nervous, to perform ‘This Band is Back.’ Seeing Willie push his way through the crowd to stand with Flynn helped a bit. He’d be really close for the performance of the best song Alex had ever written. 

He counted them in, and then Reggie started singing. It was a fun twist, to have Reggie leading off for a bit. He and Alex really led this song vocally, which wasn’t exactly how Alex had imagined it, but it worked so much better. And there was the added bonus of giving Luke and Julie’s voices a bit of a break before their big ‘it’s a love song about music and the band’ song, that was definitely lowkey a love song about each other. 

Alex had originally written this song for ukulele, and you could tell, but Julie had crushed it on acoustic when they performed it together, so that’s how they kept it for their show. Luke on acoustic, Reg brought out his upright bass, Jules had the keyboard, and Alex was still behind his drum set. It had a good, optimistic vibe, he thought, if not totally rock’n’roll. Definitely the right move to follow a sad song like ‘Unsaid Emily.’

“Woah-oh-oh-oh 

This band is back.”

After Bobby had left and stolen some of their best songs, Alex wasn’t sure Sunset Curve would make it. Luke had been pissed and blocked as a writer and had lost so much of the joy music brought him. Julie changed all of that. It was amazing actually, to consider how much better off they were now than they would have been without her, even if Bobby had stayed. Not only did he have Julie in his life, but he had Flynn and Carrie, too. And he probably would never have met Willie either. He had tried to communicate that feeling through the music as much as through the lyrics, and he felt like he’d really achieved it. As the song ended and he caught Willie’s eye, he couldn’t keep the grin off his face. His band really was back and better than ever. 

* * *

It was time for their last song, the song Julie and Luke wrote together about their love for music and the band. And if a few more of Julie’s lyrics had been about a slightly romantic love for one particular bandmate, well, he didn’t need to know that. She thought they’d had a moment earlier that day, but it was interrupted before she could finally say something to her songwriting partner like, “Hey, I like you, let’s go on a date sometime!” Yeah, it sounded bad even in her head, but she was just going to figure it out in the moment, if the moment ever came. Until then, she would totally rock this song. 

Luke watched Julie as she intro'd their last song of the set. She had written most of the lyrics, while Luke had done most of the melody, and the guys had added accompaniment. It was really an incredible song. He had really loved ‘Great,’ and finishing ‘Stand Tall’ with Julie had been a super meaningful experience, but this one was their song. It really felt like it belonged to them especially, maybe because it was about them--the four of them, of course. So as Julie began to play and sing, Luke was mesmerized. 

“Hearts on fire

We’re no liars

So we say what we want to say…”

This song was a good reminder for Julie to be honest about her feelings. She’d been avoiding saying what she wanted to say for weeks, and she resolved she was going to do it today. After the show. 

“Watch me shine!” 

Luke loved the intensity that Julie gave that line. He did want to watch her shine, was convinced he always would. But coming in right after her, he tried to focus on the crowd. After all, he was tethered to a mic stand, and Julie could roam free. It was probably best not to watch her and end up following her around the stage. He did have some singing to do of his own, after all. But when his vocal part was over for the moment, he faced Alex and Reggie to really rock with them for just a sec. He would never have made it this far without them, he knew. 

“We know we can make it

we’re not falling down under. 

Close my eyes and feel my chest

Beating like thunder…”

As Luke came in with her on this second pre-chorus, Julie had to look over to him. The way he was looking at her made her heart skip a beat. She could feel the intensity of it all from her spot on the stage. She believed it about the band; she also believed it about her and Luke. If they could actually take the risk, they could totally make it ‘now ‘til eternity,’ as she’d written. She pulled her mic from the stand and started dancing around a little as she noticed Reggie coming to join Luke at his mic. She had so much energy, she just couldn’t stand still. 

For the penultimate chorus, Julie stuck her mic back in its stand and pivoted, holding it between herself and Luke, who had come to meet her there. They hadn’t exactly practiced it that way, but somehow he knew that if he came over, she would be ready to meet him there. They had practiced this super cool echo thing, and it just seemed right for them to be facing each other as they did it. And of course, she did. As Julie sang “And you’re a part of me,” to him, Luke felt like it was really her really saying those words to him, just like he was really saying them to her. He really meant it, and he didn’t care who knew. He’d been told he didn’t keep his emotions off his face very well, and at this moment, he wasn’t even trying. 

Flynn was standing with Willie near the left of the stage, in front of Reggie sort of. When she saw the googly eyes and intensity that were exchanged between her best friend and the lead guitarist, she rolled her eyes. She even saw Alex and Reggie exchange amused and hopeful glances across their instruments. “They better get it together after this,” Willie commented, laughing. 

“You would think,” she said drily, albeit with a smile. And at the end of the song, when Julie improvised a little, she watched Luke’s emotions run wild across his face: boy was so impressed by and attracted to Julie’s incredible talent. “Somebody better speak up after that performance.” 

When their last song ended, Julie giggled just a little into the mic at the unbelievable amount of applause they were getting. “Thank you so much everyone! We’re Julie and the Phantoms! Tell your friends!!” she exclaimed brightly before rushing off stage with her mic stand and tambourine.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A variety of post-gig conversations (but not the one we're all waiting for)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter doesn't feel like it's all that significant, but the last chapter is SUPER exciting! I can't wait for you guys to read it! So enjoy this, and expect the last chapter sometime tomorrow! I'm so grateful for everyone who's read this and commented and everything. You guys are awesome!

Flynn and Willie met the band in the backstage area to help them carry their equipment out of the way of the next musician, a solo artist with a distinctly country-boy vibe. 

“OH MY GOSH WE JUST DID THAT!” Julie exclaimed, and she was immediately pulled into a huge band hug. They jumped around a little, still in their hug. 

“You guys were incredible!” Willie exclaimed when the band finally let go of each other. He immediately grabbed Alex’s hand and kissed his cheek. “I’ve never heard any band so seamlessly switch from style to style.”

“Aw, thanks,” Alex replied, instantly blushing. 

“I am seriously dating the hottest guy in the hottest band around!” 

“Woah, Willie, I like you, but not like that!” Reggie joked. “Besides, I think Alex has a crush on you! We don’t want to hurt him!” 

Julie elbowed Reggie in the ribs. “Thanks for coming Willie!” she exclaimed, purposefully ignoring Reggie’s comment. 

“Hey! I thought that was funny!” Reggie pouted. 

Flynn chuckled. “Of course you did. You have the same sense of humor as Ray.” 

“Well, Ray is super cool, so I accept your compliment!” 

Everyone laughed. “Maybe we should go find our people?” Luke suggested. “My parents said something about wanting to get dinner somewhere…” 

“Yeah, definitely! Go! We’ll finish up here and meet back at the hotel for our ritual?” Alex said excitedly. “Speaking of, Flynn and Willie are joining, right?” 

“Well duh! Our manager has to participate! And I guess significant others are allowed too, as long as they’re cool!” Luke said with a grin, all while secretly hoping he would never have to extend that offer to Nick. 

“Great! We’ll see you at the hotel around 9, if not sooner!” Julie said, pulling his guitar out of his hands and waving him off. “We can load everything back up into the van without you! And give my love to Emily!! In fact, tell her to text me!!! I wanna know what she thought of our music!!” 

Luke grinned at Julie, feeling a little awestruck at how lucky he was to have her in his life. “You got it, boss! See you guys at 9!” 

* * *

There was a ten minute break between Julie and the Phantoms and the next performer, someone called Dave Moore, a country solo artist. Emily and Mitch turned to Ray and Victoria and Carlos. “Our children are very talented musicians, aren’t they?” Emily said to Ray. 

“Oh yes. That Luke, he’s a very gifted young man. And driven, too. He reminds me a bit of Rose back when she was in a band. She always had a one-track mind for music.”

“Yes, our son has always loved music above all,” Mitch said with a hint of bitterness in his voice. 

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that! Luke has such a warm, generous heart. He talks about you two and Reggie and Alex all the time, you know. Luke loves music, but his people are his whole world.” 

“Which is still just like Rose,” Victoria pointed out with a smile. 

“Yes, Luke does care a great deal about his friends,” Emily agreed. “Now Ray, Julie tells me you’re a professional videographer and photographer. How did you end up in that particular line of work?” 

“Oh, I’ve always loved cameras. In college I worked for a wedding photographer as an assistant, and when the videographer was in a minor car accident on the way to the wedding, I was the only person who could fill in. And it turned out I had a bit of a knack for it. I mean, it was clearly amateur work, but high quality for an amateur. And I switched my major the next day. Who needs a business degree when you can have a fine arts degree, you know?” he joked. 

“Did you ever regret it? Being an artist professionally?” Emily asked. 

Ray shook his head. “Not at all. After all, if I’d gotten my MBA and worked for some corporation like I originally planned, I never would have met Rose, and I wouldn’t have my beautiful children. And I like to think that my job adds a little beauty to the world. I doubt myself some days, but I always come through it. But what about you all? What do you do?” 

Mitch smiled. “I went the less artistic route and became an accountant. I’ve just always liked numbers, so it made sense.” 

“That’s great! My sister is an actuary! She lives up in Chicago now, but every time I talk to her, she finds a way to get excited about numbers and statistics.” Ray chuckled. “I think she’s hoping one of my kids will decide they love numbers like her, since none of hers did.” 

“Yeah, Luke was always building things growing up, so I hoped he would become an engineer or an architect.”

Victoria spoke up. “Children never seem to do what their parents expect. At least, Rose and I certainly didn’t. Our parents wanted us to grow up into housewives. Rose refused to stop working even when she was married with children, and I never got married at all.”

“I suppose I didn’t follow the path my parents expected either. I became a librarian and moved to a big city after spending all of my childhood in rural west Tennessee.” 

“Are you talking about Grandad’s farm again?” Luke said, walking up behind his parents. 

“Oh, we were just talking about growing up,” Emily said lightly. “Are you ready to go to dinner?”

“Yeah, sure! I just have to be back at the hotel by 9! We have a tradition to uphold!”

“Oh, we’ll be done long before that, sweetie. Your father and I aren’t staying the night here in Knoxville. We’re heading home after dinner.”

“Cool. Well thanks for getting dinner with me first!” Luke was clearly still a little uncomfortable with his parents, but it was important that they all sit down and talk. 

“What do you want for dinner, son? We’re up for anything!” 

“So, I’ve kinda been craving fried chicken…” Luke said sheepishly. 

“Oh, now that you say that, fried chicken sounds excellent!” Emily pulled out her phone. “It looks like there’s a Gus’s here in Knoxville! What do you guys think?” 

“Yes! Let’s do it!” Luke agreed excitedly. 

“Okay! The car is this way, let’s go!” Mitch said, taking his wife’s arm and leading the way. 

* * *

When they were seated in the restaurant and had placed their orders, Emily looked expectantly at Luke. “Sweetheart, can I ask you--why do you love music so much?” 

Luke paused, his drink halfway up to his mouth. He just stared at her for a moment before setting his cup back down on the table. “I love that it helps people express their feelings. Or, that it offers a release for their feelings, I think that’s the way she phrased it. But anyway, I love that music can reflect your mood even when you don’t have the words. I love that it gives vocabulary to something that can otherwise be difficult to verbalize. Like, playing in a minor key always sounds sad. And a ukulele is a great instrument to play for a lighter, more optimistic song. I always needed that expression, and music is how I found it.” 

“I never thought of it that way…” Emily said, and Mitch merely nodded. 

Luke shrugged. “That’s what music has always been for me.”

“I don’t think we’ve always been good at listening to you, Luke,” Emily said with a sigh. “I’m so sorry about that.”

“I’m not exactly good at communicating either.”

“Well, we’d like to change that, if it’s alright with you,” Mitch said with a smile. 

Luke gave his parents a hesitant smile in return. “Yeah, I’d really like that.” 

“So, can I ask what the hope is for the future? I mean, you want to have a career in music, right? What would that even look like?” Mitch asked, always the practical one.

“I don’t totally know yet?” Luke said with uncertainty as the waitress brought over their food. “I mean, music doesn’t exactly have a clearly outlined career path, ya know? I just know that we want to keep trying to be heard. After all, this was really only our second gig as Julie and the Phantoms. It’ll probably be a while before we’re established enough around Nashville for anyone to take us seriously.”

MItch nodded slowly. “And in the meantime, you’ll keep working at the hardware store?” 

“I mean, the pay is good, I get a discount that comes in pretty handy, and my schedule’s flexible enough to work around Alex and Julie’s less flexible schedule. I figure I could do a lot worse.”

“So what I really want to know,” Emily butted in before Mitch could follow up with another question, “is when you and Julie started making gooey eyes at each other. Are you dating?”

Luke immediately blushed. “Moooom!”

Emily chuckled. “So you’re not dating. I didn’t think so. But you are going to?”

“Can we  _ please  _ not have this conversation?” Luke begged. 

“Julie’s a wonderful young lady, Luke. It would be a real shame to let her get away without at least saying something to her,” Mitch commented with a small smile. 

“Especially with the way you two look at each other. It’s obvious to anyone with eyes that you like her. And that she likes you too.” 

“Mom, it’s not like that, really!”

“Luke, dear, I’ve known you since before you were born, I think I can read your face pretty well, and you like her.”

“Can you read it now as it’s telling you to change the subject?” 

“Fine, fine, we can change the subject. But don’t wait too long. She’s a special one, that Julie.” 

* * *

While Luke was out with his parents, the rest of the band (plus Flynn and Willie) was deciding where to go to dinner. 

“I vote we get hot dogs! I bet there’s a street cart around here somewhere!” Reggie begged. 

“No way! Alex told me about last time!” Julie said, giving Reggie a severe look. “You guys really need to take better care of yourselves! I need you boys!”

Reggie’s eyes widened and he threw up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Okay! Okay! You pick, madam lead singer!” 

“I don’t have to pick, I just have veto powers!” Julie replied. “I don’t really care that much, as long as no one’s in danger of ending up in the ER.” 

Flynn pulled out her phone and started searching for restaurants. “So, there’s a bunch of places here, near the venue, but I’m kinda feeling going off-campus somewhere? I bet it’ll be less crowded that way.”

“Yeah, that sounds good to me,” Alex nodded. “I could do with a break from people.” 

“Okay, well there’s a restaurant/brewery called Balter Beerworks that’s not too far from here, there’s a pizza place called Barley’s, and a barbecue place called Sweet P’s. They’re the closest options that aren’t too close to UT’s campus that look decent to me, so that’s what you get to choose from.” 

“Oooh, I vote barbecue! I am majorly craving ribs!!” Reggie said excitedly, and there was a general murmur of assent among the rest of the teenagers. 

“Cool! I’ve gotta go talk to Dad, Carlos, and Tia, but I’ll be back in a few?” Julie said.

“Dude, invite them!! We love Ray!” Alex said excitedly. 

“Yeah, and I’m Carlos’s favorite!” Flynn gave Reggie a look. “Well, tied for favorite with this beauty.” Flynn was totally caught off guard by Reggie’s half-joking compliment, and she looked a little like a deer in headlights, but she recovered quickly. 

“Don’t you forget it! But really, I’ve known Carlos for longer, which means I clearly outrank you, sorry Reg.”

Reggie pouted, which prompted Flynn to caress his cheek in a teasing attempt at consolation. “Don’t worry. When you’ve known him his whole life, maybe he’ll like you as much as he likes me,” she said chuckling, even as her cheeks warmed from her own audacity. But then Reggie grabbed her hand as she pulled it away. 

“Maybe I’ll fight you for it,” he said just a little more softly. Flynn and Reggie held eye contact for a moment, totally missing the surprised looks exchanged between Alex and Willie, and Julie’s face that was equal parts triumph and concern. When Alex cleared his throat, it was Reggie’s turn to look like a deer in headlights. 

“So, I’m gonna go tell my family the plan, and I’ll be back in a few.” Julie spoke just to save everyone from the weird energy of the moment, but she did want to go find them, so she went wading through the crowd to where she’d seen them standing during the performance.

When Julie finally found her family, they had been joined by Trevor, Carrie, and Nick. “Hey guys!” 

“Mija! You were incredible!” Ray exclaimed. “Truly amazing!” 

“You really were!!!” Tia agreed. “I couldn’t believe it!! The crowd loved you!” 

“You reminded me of Rose up there, Julie,” Trevor said with a proud smile. “She would have loved that set.”

Julie teared up at his words. “Thanks, everyone! That means so much to me!”

Carrie pulled her best friend into a hug. “You were really phenomenal!” 

“Thanks Carrie! I’m excited to hear Dirty Candy perform tomorrow!!” 

The girls let each other go. “You were great, Julie!” Nick commented, also pulling Julie into a casual hug. 

“Thanks, Nick! I’m glad you came,” she said with an equally casual smile before turning to the group at large. “So, we’re going to get barbecue at some restaurant Flynn found on her phone, and we want you guys to come, if you’re up for it!” 

“Yes! Totally!” Carrie agreed immediately, and Tia seconded her.

“Of course, mija! We want to celebrate with you!” 

“Perfect! Well, I’ll get Flynn to text you guys the address! I’ll see you there in like, fifteen minutes!” 

* * *

Dinner with everyone was a loud but enjoyable affair. Trevor, Flynn, and Reggie spent the first half of the meal discussing jazz in great depth, while Nick and Carrie flirted awkwardly over a shared plate of fried pickles. Ray and Willie chatted about photography and art while Carlos and Alex discussed the different ways they handled panic attacks. Tia Victoria decided to take the opportunity to tease her niece a little. 

“So mija, you and Luke seemed awfully close up there on that stage.” 

“Tia, please don’t,” Julie said with a faint groan, but her aunt just laughed. 

“Do you need to see the picture Flynn sent to me? It honestly looked like you were about to drop everything and kiss that boy. And if that doesn’t convince you, your father knows the videographer hired by the festival, and he’s agreed to send your father an advance copy of your set. We can all watch it together if you want. That way you can’t help but see what everyone else sees.” 

“Ugh. This is complicated enough without all the commentary,” Julie said, covering her face with her hands. After a moment she looked up at her smiling aunt, her cheeks tinged a light pink. “I promise you there’s nothing going on between me and Luke.” 

“Julie, the way you two look at each other--it reminds me of Ray and Rose when they first started dating. They were a little older than you, but it’s the same look.”

“We haven’t talked about anything, so as far as I’m concerned, nothing is going on.”

“It doesn’t have to be spoken for it to be something,” Victoria pointed out with a faint smirk. “But you should probably talk about it so it can become something definite.” 

Julie’s face turned a darker shade. “I know. I was going to talk to him tonight, after our post-gig ritual.” 

“Good! Someone needs to speak up! And soon! You’ll have to let me know how it goes!” 

“Of course, Tia! I’ve promised you, Flynn, and Carrie the first official notification of any romantic developments in my life. That promise is sacred.” 

“I’m glad to hear it! Now finish your sandwich! I’m going to get dessert!” 

While Julie waited for her aunt to return, she looked down the table to Flynn and Reggie. It seemed like maybe Reggie was beginning to be interested in Flynn, or was slowly becoming aware of her feelings for him? She wasn’t sure, but she was definitely getting a flirty vibe from the way they were interacting. I mean, Reggie was talking to one of his music heroes, but still managed to spend more than half of his time looking at Flynn. And every time Flynn touched his arm or nudged him with her elbow (Flynn had always been a touchy person, this wasn’t unusual), Reggie blushed just a little. Maybe she and Luke wouldn’t be the only ones having a conversation about their feelings in the near future. Julie could only hope.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is it! I can't believe that this happened at all, let alone that it's elicited such a positive response from strangers on the internet! I really hope you enjoy this final chapter!!!

After dinner, the kids decided to go hang out in Julie and Flynn’s hotel room while they waited on Luke to show up. Carlos and Reggie were playing some video game together, Willie and Alex were cuddling on Flynn’s bed while Carrie and Flynn sat opposite them discussing Dirty Candy’s performance for the next day. Nick caught Julie’s eye from where he was sitting in a chair next to Flynn’s bed. He nodded toward the door with a meaningful glance, and Julie nodded. She got up and grabbed her wallet. “I’m gonna run down to the vending machine, does anybody need anything?” she asked loudly. 

“Ooooh, can you get me a root beer if they have it? Thanks Julie!” Carlos asked without looking up from his game. 

“Yeah, me too, please!” Reggie seconded. 

“Would you grab me a bottle of water? I’m so thirsty!” Carrie asked. 

“Of course! That’s a bottle of water and two root beers. I’ll be right back!” 

“Here, Julie, I’ll come too. I think I want something, but I’m not sure what exactly.” Nick hopped up from his seat and followed Julie out into the hallway. 

They walked in silence down the hall toward the vending machines, which were in a small alcove right next to the elevators. Julie had no idea what Nick wanted, but figured it would just be better to let him talk when he was ready. She stuck a dollar into the machine and hit the button for root beer. When she bent down to grab it, he finally spoke. 

“She finally said yes.”

“Full disclosure, I already know. But Nick!” Julie squealed a little. “This is so exciting!” 

“I’m taking her to Dollywood tomorrow after her performance. Since Dirty Candy plays in the morning.” 

“Dude, that’s a great idea!! You know she loves all things Dolly! Plus, that place is magical!”

Nick nodded. “It’s just--I’ve had these feelings for so long. What if it doesn’t work out?” 

“Nick, your foundation is so strong. The friendship that all of those feelings are built on is so solid. Besides, we both know those feelings have been reciprocated for a long time, too. It’s just been stubbornness that’s kept everything on hold.” 

Nick took a deep breath in and nodded slowly. “I know you’re right, Julie. I’m just a worrier. Thanks for talking me down.” 

Julie smiled brightly at him. “I’m always happy to help my favorite people be happy. I’d do anything for you guys, ya know?” 

Nick leaned over and kissed Julie on the cheek. “Still. You’re the best.” 

As Nick kissed her cheek, Julie heard a strangled cough come from behind her. She whipped her head around and saw Luke standing there. “Luke! How was dinner with your parents? Are you okay?” 

* * *

After dinner with his parents, Luke was feeling good. Definitely ready for movie night and then, hopefully, a long talk with Julie. But when he got off the elevator at the third floor, he heard familiar voices. “It’s just--I’ve had these feelings for so long. What if it doesn’t work out?” He felt his stomach drop. It was Nick’s voice. He knew he should just walk away, but he couldn’t drag himself away, so he stood there and listened. 

“Nick, your foundation is so strong. The friendship that all of those feelings are built on is so solid. Besides, we both know those feelings have been reciprocated for a long time, too. It’s just been stubbornness that’s kept everything on hold.” He knew technically there was no physical damage from what he heard Julie say, but he felt his heart break in a way he’d never experienced before. 

“I know you’re right, Julie. I’m just a worrier. Thanks for talking me down.” Luke stepped forward, thinking the conversation was over and he could reveal himself without it seeming like he’d been spying. But of course, it didn’t end there. 

“I’m always happy to help my favorite people be happy. I’d do anything for you guys, ya know?” As Luke turned the corner and could finally see in the little alcove where Julie and Nick were standing, Nick kissed Julie’s cheek. He couldn’t keep a noise that sounded like a drowning cat from coming out, and Julie turned to look at him, her smile brightening even though he’d interrupted a romantic moment. Gosh, she was too good for him. No wonder she’d picked someone else. 

“Luke! How was dinner with your parents?” She frowned a little as she gave him a more appraising glance. “Are you okay?” 

“Oh, uh, yeah, it was good. They uh, they had to head out early to make it home at a reasonable hour, so we finished early. I was heading to your room to see what was up. I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to interrupt anything. I’ll just go. Everyone’s in your room, right?” Luke just wanted to run away, but he forced himself to stay where he was and attempt normal. 

“Luke, you’re being a little weird. You sure everything’s okay?” 

“Yeah, ‘course. I’ll see you guys in there.” Luke rushed awkwardly out of the alcove toward the girls’ room. When he got there, he took a deep breath and tried to arrange his expression to something neutral. When he pushed the door open (apparently Julie and Nick had left it propped a little bit open so they could get back in), everyone looked over at him. 

“Dude, you look like a kicked puppy,” Carlos said, before turning back to his video game. 

“Oooh, yeah, what happened dude? Dinner not go well?” Reggie asked, completely ignoring the game. When Carlos noticed, he huffed a little but paused it out of respect. 

“Julie and Nick are definitely an item,” Luke announced miserably. “I just heard them talking about their feelings in front of the vending machine.” He walked forward and dropped face first onto Julie’s bed, completely missing Carlos’s quiet scoffing. 

Suddenly, Flynn and Carrie started laughing. “Hey, this isn’t funny!” Luke exclaimed angrily, sitting up. Even Alex and Reggie looked confused. 

Flynn rolled her eyes. “Luke, Nick has been after Carrie for  _ years _ . They’re going on their first date tomorrow thanks to Julie  _ majorly  _ wingmanning for him. There’s less than nothing between them.” 

Carrie nodded. “Nick sort of panics, and Julie’s always been the person who helps him keep his head on straight.” She giggled. “Nick and Julie? They would be a disaster.” 

Willie nodded. “I don’t really know this Nick guy, but they seem like a weird pairing. Why did they date in the first place, anyway?”

Flynn shrugged. “Julie had a crush on him for years without ever speaking to him, then they became friends and dated for like, point two seconds and decided they were better as just friends. Meanwhile, our girl Carrie over here had been really tight with Nick for years and developed feelings for him right around the time he and Julie started dating. She ignored them for years because of Girl Code and whatever, (even though she wasn’t friends with us back then) and tried dating other people, but always still liked Nick. So when the three of us ran into him at a frat party right around the time we met you guys, he asked Carrie out, and she said she would think about it. And then Julie did her thing and convinced Carrie to forget Girl Code, which is only questionably applicable anyway, and go out with him.”

“So, Julie  _ doesn’t _ like Nick?” Luke asked, dumbfounded. 

Alex facepalmed, Willie rolled her eyes, and Reggie laughed. The girls just exchanged knowing glances. “Dude, anyone with eyes can see that my sister is  _ totally  _ into you! Why are you such an idiot?” Carlos said exasperatedly. 

“Sorry, who’s an idiot?” Julie asked, pushing the door open with her elbow as she and Nick walked into the room with their drinks. 

Luke felt his face turn bright red. “Oh, uh, no one. Let’s start movie night! We are just hanging here, right? Not going to a park or anything?” 

“Yeah, this is more comfortable. And then we have a shorter distance to get to bed after the movie!” Alex agreed. 

“Great, well whose turn is it to pick the movie?” 

“Mine!” Reggie exclaimed excitedly. “We’re watching  _ Phantom of the Opera!  _ Get it? ‘Cause we’re Julie and the Phantoms?”  __

Luke gave him a death glare, knowing his roommate well enough to know that this choice was pointedly a love triangle film. Alex coughed, and he glanced over to see that he was trying to hide his laughter. “Yeah, that sounds great! I love that movie!” Julie said, clearly missing whatever was happening between the guys in her band. 

“Cool, let’s see if we can find it online somewhere,” Luke said, silently resigning to all the glances his friends were definitely going to be passing him all through the movie.

“Oh, I actually have it on my laptop. Here, I’ll hook it up to the TV and we’ll be good to go.”

“Well, I think Nick and I should probably get going. I think we’re gonna meet the girls from Dirty Candy for drinks. Jasmine’s boyfriend lives in Knox, so we’re all supposed to meet around 9:00. But we’ll see you guys tomorrow, right?” 

“Definitely! We wouldn’t miss a Dirty Candy performance!” Reggie said with a grin. “Have a good night!”

“Dang it, Dad told me I had to leave when Nick and Carrie left,” Carlos said. 

Julie glanced around at her bandmates, asking them a question silently. When everyone gave their assent, she smiled. “You can stick around if you want, Carlos. We don’t mind. After all, we’ve already been invaded by boyfriends and managers.”

Carlos shrugged. “Nah, thanks though. I’m not really into  _ Phantom. _ But if you guys ever watch  _ The Sound of Music,  _ I’m there.” He picked up his shoes and headed for the door. “Have fun!” 

Julie turned on the movie and hopped onto her bed, where Luke and Reggie were already settling in. Flynn had already made herself comfortable leaning on Alex’s shoulder. “All right!” Reggie said excitedly as the opening credits began. 

* * *

As the movie went on, Luke was unsurprised to hear Julie singing along with the movie under her breath, at least the lower sections. Hearing Julie’s voice sing the beginning of ‘Think of Me’ made Luke’s heart lurch. He couldn’t imagine being separated from her, or the pain of such a goodbye. He took the opportunity to glance over at her and see the sad smile on her face. Reggie was between them, (definitely already crying, by the way) or he would have grabbed her hand right then. He vowed never to be as stupid as Raoul and say goodbye to the woman with the most incredible voice even more incredible heart that had ever existed. 

As the movie went on, he felt himself tear up periodically, The Phantom just loved music and Christine, but he couldn’t really have either. He couldn’t imagine that. And then to watch Christine and Raoul’s moment, as they sang ‘All I Ask of You’ to each other--gosh. He couldn’t have done it, had he been in the Phantom’s shoes. It gave him chills to watch. But the words Christine and Raoul were singing to each other--it was so beautiful. And Julie’s voice underneath the others singing along with Christine and Raoul both. Well, she took his breath away.

When the movie ended, Alex and Willie were asleep on Flynn’s bed, Reggie was still crying, and Luke felt like he was vibrating from all the pent up energy of the day. Between the performance and the time with his parents and the newfound knowledge about Julie and Nick and his  _ need  _ to talk to her, he couldn’t sleep even if he wanted to. So when Julie got up to turn off the movie, he looked around the room. “Anyone want to get something to eat?” he asked softly so as not to wake Alex and Willie. 

Flynn shook her head. “I don’t think so, I’m pretty beat. Besides, pretty sure if I move, I’ll wake up our love birds. Speaking of, I have some great pictures of them cuddling, if anyone wants them!” 

“Oooh, yes! Send them to me! I need something good to post on our official Julie and the Phantoms Instagram!” 

“Uh, Reggie,  _ I  _ run that account. How do you have access?” Flynn asked. 

Reggie shrugged. “I may have seen the password when you left your phone unlocked on the table one day when I was over? I don’t quite remember the specifics of October the first, when we were hanging out and watching The Office together and then Carrie called you into the kitchen to get your help with a recipe for potato soup.”

Flynn growled at him, but still didn’t get up from her spot. “The only reason you’re not totally dead is because I really don’t want to shake the bed and wake them up. But you can bet that in the morning, I’m coming for you! Also, I’m changing the password  _ now! _ ” 

“Well, I’m gonna go sleep in my room, because I’m exhausted. This has been fun, I’ll see you guys tomorrow!” Reggie said quickly, rushing out of the room. 

“What about you, Julie? Wanna go see if there’s anything open close by? I’m kinda hungry,” Luke asked nervously, but trying to be nonchalant. 

“Yeah, let’s do it!” Julie said with a smile. “Lemme just grab a sweatshirt and find my purse. And Flynn, if you manage to extricate yourself, you’re welcome to crash in my bed. I’ll just push you out of my way when we get back.”

“Just like always, I know!” Flynn said with a slightly devious grin. “You two have fun!” 

* * *

“So, my parents told me all about how you’re their new favorite Patterson, and you’re not even a Patterson,” Luke said teasingly as they walked down the street to an ice cream place that Google claimed was still open because of the festival. 

Julie laughed. “I love your parents. They make me feel like family.” 

“Well, they love you like you’re family, so consider yourself an honorary Patterson.” Julie laughed. 

“I mean, pretty sure the same is true of my dad and all three of you guys. He and Carlos both love you guys alot. I think Reggie is especially an honorary Molina, ever since he asked Dad to help him open a savings account. Dad was furious his parents hadn’t ever talked to him about finances. I think he would try to actually adopt him if he wasn’t already an adult.” Julie laughed. 

“You Molinas are some of the most generous, kind-hearted people I’ve ever met,” Luke said softly. 

Julie shook her head. “We do what we can, that’s all.” 

“No, seriously, Julie. I’ve never known anyone like you before.” The intensity in Luke’s voice and face surprised Julie, and she inhaled sharply. She hadn’t even noticed that they stopped walking and their faces were so close together. “Julie, I--I think…” Luke had clearly lost his words. “We--Do you--” Luke groaned. 

Julie smiled softly at his frustration with himself, deciding to try to lead off, since she was pretty sure she knew where he was trying to go. “Luke, I have a confession to make. The lyrics we used for ‘Finally Free’ weren’t totally about music and the band.” The confused look on his face made her chuckle. She started to sing softly. “‘We know we can make it, we’re not falling down under. Close my eyes and feel my chest beating like thunder.’ What does that sound like to you?” He still looked confused. “I got a spark in me, hands up if you can see, and you’re a part of me, hands up if you’re with me. Now ‘til eternity, hands up if you believe, been so long and now we’re finally free.” 

“I don’t get it. The idea was to write about music and our band, I thought that’s what we did.” 

“Luke, I wrote those words about how it would feel to tell you that I’m into you and have you feel the same way,” Julie confessed, her cheeks turning pink. 

“What? Do the guys know?” Luke asked, absolutely boggled. 

Julie rolled her eyes. “Really? I just told you I like you, and your question is if the guys knew my words were less about the band generally and more about you specifically?” 

Suddenly, Luke’s face froze and he looked down at her, his eyes wide. Julie had thought Luke felt the same way, that he had some idea of her feelings, so she was starting to panic. She felt her cheeks go even darker pink and she was glad for the relative dark they were walking through. “Okay, please don’t freak out, it’s not a big deal, we can totally move on and pretend this didn’t happen. I can get over it, I’m sure.” 

Julie started to step back, but Luke grabbed her hand. “NO!” he shouted, and then immediately cringed as other pedestrians turned to look at them. “Julie, don’t get over it! And please don’t pretend this didn’t happen! As much as I wanted to be the one to say it first, I don’t want to pretend anything about you! Nothing false could ever measure up to how perfect you are.” 

Julie sighed in relief. “Oh my gosh, you had me thinking I had totally misread the situation.”

“No. Julie Molina, I am crazy about you. You are one of my best friends, and you’re always on my wavelength, and you’re smart and gentle and kind and protective and you love my crazy friends as much as I do and I want to be in your life forever. As more than we are right now.”

Julie laughed. “I’ve known you for four months, so I assume you’re not proposing to me?” she joked, and Luke colored a little. 

“No, I’m not proposing. But Julie, will you go out with me? And if it goes well, will you be my girlfriend?” 

“I don’t even have to wait to go on a date with you first, yes I’ll be your girlfriend!” Julie exclaimed. 

Luke looked into her eyes for a moment. “Not trying to screw up a perfect moment, but Julie, can I kiss you?” he asked softly. 

Instead of responding, Julie leaned forward and pressed her lips tentatively to his. When he responded, her kiss became passionate but also sweet. It was the perfect first kiss. 

When they separated, Julie chuckled. “Flynn is going to be so smug in the morning.”

Luke joined in with a laugh of his own. “So are the guys. They’ve been telling me to ask you out for weeks now.”

“Well why didn’t you?” Julie asked, pulling him down the street toward the ice cream shop. 

“I didn’t think you liked me like that. Heck, I thought you and Nick were about to hook up.” 

Julie’s face scrunched in displeasure at the notion. “Ugh, no! Nick is  _ so  _ not the right guy for me! He’s actually taking Carrie on their first date tomorrow. Thank goodness. That’s a relationship that’s been a  _ long  _ time coming.” 

“Well, you ditched band practice to hang out with him! What was I supposed to think?” 

“Luke, I was wearing your hoodie. I wear it all the time! And I looked so rough that day! I don’t think I’d showered in several days! How could you have thought I was into Nick?” 

“Reggie told me he was your ex and I panicked. But I didn’t know that wearing my hoodie meant you liked me!” 

“Well I would have returned Reggie or Alex’s if they’d been the ones to loan me long sleeves that night! Seriously, I wear this everywhere! It’s like, my favorite article of clothing now.” 

Luke laughed. “Yeah, it used to be my favorite, until my adorable bandmate stole it.”

“Hey, I didn’t steal it, you loaned it to me and I simply failed to return it! Also, you never asked for it back, so how could I have known it was your favorite?”

“You make a good point. I guess I’ll let you win this fight and keep the hoodie,” Luke said with a grin and a shrug as they made it in front of the ice cream shop. 

“Well, I do hear that that’s what good boyfriends do,” Julie said with a smirk, leaning toward him. When he leaned down to kiss her and pulled her completely into his arms, Luke was sure he had never been this happy in his whole life. 

* * *

The next morning, Julie was awakened by a shriek from her best friend in the bed beside her. “OH MY GOSH!” 

Julie groaned. “What the heck, Flynn?”

“YOU AND LUKE KISSED!” 

“Yeah, I know. I texted you and Carrie and Tia that we’re dating now, just like I promised.” 

“No, Julie, look at this! Apparently someone saw you guys last night and recognized you! They sent me this picture of you guys kissing in front of that ice cream place!” 

Flynn shoved her phone into her best friend’s face, and Julie squinted at the screen before grabbing it completely to adjust how far from her face it was. “Oh my gosh! I love this picture!”

“I’m posting it! Also, your number of Insta followers has  _ skyrocketed!  _ Like, you guys have some real fans now!”

“Whatever. Send it to Luke first, make sure it’s okay with him that something like that is made public. After all, we only started dating… oh my gosh, less than ten hours ago.” She groaned. “Let me go back to sleep!” 

“Sorry babe, no can do! We have to get up if we don’t want to miss Dirty Candy!” 

Julie dragged herself out of bed. “Speaking of, what's up with you, Reg, and Kayla? You and Reggie have seemed a little flirty lately, is there something going on?” 

Flynn shrugged as she pulled on a cute skirt. “No clue. He hasn’t said anything to me, but I’ve decided to take my own advice. Which is also Tia’s advice. And your advice. And Willie’s advice. But I’m going to tell him I like him today. Even if he doesn’t like me back, it doesn’t have to be weird unless I let it be.” 

“Yes girl! Do it! I’m so proud of you!” Julie cheered as she pulled on a pair of high waisted distressed jeans to go with her cropped shirt. 

“Thanks, girl! Now come on, let’s go! We don’t want to miss meeting the boys for breakfast! Pretty sure we have some group gloating to do!” 

As Julie followed Flynn out the door, she got a text that made her smile brighter than she had all morning. 

**Rockstar Luke:** i ddnt dream that did i

**Rockstar Luke:** ur rlly my girlfriend?

**Wrecking ball Julie:** Good morning, boyfriend! Not a dream. I’ll see you at breakfast in 5 😘

She couldn’t keep a smile off her face. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're a total ReggiexFlynn stan, I'm sorry if you feel cheated! I am considering an epilogue that would give them everything they deserve, I just can't quite bring myself to commit to it. Sorry! But know that of course they get together and are happy! Anyway, thank you so much to everyone who ever read this!!! It's been a wild experience for me, writing things that people actually read because they like it!! Um, Tumblr is low-key terrifying to me (I have no idea how it works, in spite of the fact that I'm in my 20s and should be able to figure it out?), but I'm there and on Twitter if you want to find me in other places!! I'm @bexthefan on Twitter and bex2313 on Tumblr. (I'm really not kidding when I say I have no idea how Tumblr works; also, my Twitter is mostly dedicated to Hallmark Channel. Because I've got the soul of a grandma.) So much love to all of you!!!


	21. Epilogue

Roughly 2.5 Years Later:

Julie waltzed through the door of Emily Patterson’s house without knocking. “Good morning Emily! I brought coffee!” 

“Hi Julie! We’re in Mitch’s office!” 

Julie kicked off her converse by the door and plodded through the living room and down the hall to the office. When she got there, she pushed the partially open door all the way open with her socked-foot. 

“Oh, hi Luke! I didn’t expect you. I thought Emily and I were having breakfast just the two of us.”

“Yeah, uh, I’m not staying. I was just talking to Mom for a minute. I’m actually headed over to your Dad’s. We’re gonna seal up that crack in the studio wall from when Reg had his accident.” 

Julie laughed at the memory. “I think I’ll miss that when you’ve fixed it. It’s been there for almost two years now, hasn’t it?” 

Luke nodded, rubbing his neck. He looked very flustered. In fact, this whole situation seemed a bit odd. Typically only Mitch spent time in the office, unless someone was putting something into or taking something out of the safe. 

“Are you really going over to help Dad do repairs?” Julie asked, watching her boyfriend more carefully now. 

Luke blushed. “Yeah, among other things. Listen, I’ll see you tonight, right? The coffee shop?”

Julie smiled and nodded. “Yeah, of course. I wouldn’t miss it for anything!” Luke stood up quickly, kissed Julie on the cheek, and promptly rushed out of the room. “That was a little strange,” Julie mused aloud. 

“Oh, Luke and his father had a rather… personal conversation this morning, that’s all. I think he still just needs to process it all,” Emily said lightly. 

“Well, working with his hands has always been good for that, I guess,” Julie said, handing Emily a paper coffee cup. 

“It certainly has,” Emily said with a small smile. “Are you ready to make breakfast?” 

“Of course! What are we making this morning?” Julie asked excitedly, trying to put her boyfriend’s strangeness out of her mind. 

“I thought we would do eggs and bacon with cinnamon apple scones.” 

“Oooh, that sounds amazing! And somehow, we still haven’t ever made scones, even though we’ve been doing this for almost three years!” 

“I know! And I make scones so often! It seems silly that we haven’t made them yet! Which is why today that changes! Now, this is my absolute favorite recipe, and it’s one that my mother created herself and passed down to me. It’s a family treasure in and of itself, so don’t go sharing it with anyone else,” Emily said with a mirthful smile. 

“Oh, I would never dream of it!” Julie said with an equally light joy in her tone. 

The two women worked easily together after years of practice. The kitchen had been their place together since the beginning of their friendship. They had cried together in the kitchen, laughed together, talked about their joys and sorrows, their frustrations and fears, the boring details of their day-to-day lives and every extraordinary moment they’d experienced too. As they sat down at the table to enjoy their breakfast, Julie looked over to her hostess. 

“Emily?” 

Emily must have heard the emotion in Julie’s voice, because she immediately reached out her hand to hold Julie’s. “Yes dear?” 

“Have I ever said thank you for all of this?” 

“What? What are you talking about?” Emily asked, clearly a bit confused. 

“You’re not my mother. You had no obligation to bring me into your home and treat me like I was your daughter. But you did anyway. You’ve helped me heal from Mom’s death. Of course I still miss her, and no one will ever replace her. But on the occasions when I’ve really needed a motherly figure, you and Tia have always been there for me. I’ve never been without someone to ask the things a girl asks her mom. You and Mom are so different, but your love feels the same. I don’t think I’ve ever told you that before.” 

Emily teared up at Julie’s words and stood up, reaching for Julie to pull her into a hug. “You’re my daughter in my heart, Julie. And you always will be.” 

* * *

After breakfast, Julie had a final project to work on for her last Music Therapy class before she could start her internship. She spent a few hours working on it before Flynn persuaded her that she needed to start getting ready for her date with Luke that night. 

“Girl, you’re supposed to meet Luke in two hours, and you still need to shower! Come on, put your laptop away!” Flynn insisted, and Julie knew it was useless to protest. 

“Weren’t you and Reggie supposed to be meeting with a caterer right now?” Julie asked as she acquiesced to her best friend’s demand and closed her computer. 

“We decided to go a little more casual,” Flynn said with a shrug and a fond smile. 

“Please don’t tell me you’re just going to order everyone Krystals. That’s really not the move, I promise!” 

Flynn laughed. “Well duh! We’re just not doing a sit down dinner. All my aunties have agreed to each make two hundred servings of their best appetizer or dessert. We’re gonna have a finger food wedding.” 

“That sounds perfect. Please tell me Aunt Jasmine agreed to make her beignets.” 

“Hell yeah she did! She knows how much you love them. And Reggie  _ really  _ loves them too. He tried them when we visited her in New Orleans last Christmas and immediately announced that he had found his new favorite food,” Flynn said with a grin. “Of course, we also asked Tia to make tostones and Emily is making her brownies.” 

“Oh good. You guys are gonna have the best food ever at your wedding!” Julie said as she stood up and stretched. 

“Ok, well, you need to shower so I can help you get ready for your date with Luke,” Flynn said matter-of-factly. 

“Fine, fine, I’m going!” Julie said, grabbing her bathrobe and heading to the bathroom to shower. 

When she emerged from the bathroom forty minutes later with her hair only slightly damp instead of full-on soaked, Flynn was holding two dresses, and Carrie was beside her with a third. “I’m really feeling like the coral dress is the right move. And we can pair it with Rose’s blue jacket, yeah?” Flynn said confidently. 

“Oooh, I forgot about the jacket. That’s a good call,” Carrie agreed. 

Flynn shoved the dress in question at Julie. “Here, put this on, then Carrie’s gonna do your make up while I take care of your hair.” 

“You guys are  _ very  _ involved in my prep for this date night. What’s up with that?” Julie asked, one eyebrow raised in suspicion. 

“Girl, please. You and Luke haven’t been on a nice date in ages! We just want you to look your best!” Carrie said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Now get dressed! Time’s a-ticking!” 

Julie rolled her eyes but let her friends make her up for her. Sometimes how ridiculously invasive her friends were made her crazy, but she was lucky to have them just the same. And when she didn’t feel like it, they told her how lucky she was. She wouldn’t trade them for anything. 

* * *

When Luke got to the house to pick Julie up, she was already waiting for him out on the porch, humming a melody that she hadn’t thought about in a while. 

She practically skipped over to his car as he got out. “Hey Jules! Good day?” Luke asked as Julie pranced over to him and kissed him quickly. 

“Yeah, I think so. How about you? You and Dad manage to take care of that wall in the studio?” Julie asked as Luke walked her around to the passenger’s door and opened it for her. 

“Yeah, we did. And we had a good chat, too,” Luke said evasively as Julie took her seat in the car and Luke closed her door. 

“What did you guys talk about?” Julie asked when her boyfriend made it into the driver’s seat. 

“We talked about a lot of things. The band, mostly. Since you’ve just got to do your internship before you’re a certified music therapist, what does that mean for the band? Have we thought about the offer from Trevor’s friend Andi for representation? How do I feel like things are going for the band? Are we still working on our next album? You know…” 

Julie nodded. “Yeah, he likes to be involved, that’s for sure.” 

The pair fell into a comfortable silence for the remainder of the drive. A lot had changed in the last three years since Julie met Alex and her world turned upside down again (or maybe right side up, really. Depends on who you ask), but being comfortable in silence with Luke wasn’t one of them. Neither was the way she felt when she looked over at him in the driver’s seat, gently tapping his fingers on the steering wheel along with the song on the radio. She still felt butterflies in her stomach when he glanced over to her and smiled that adorable smile, and when he reached his hand over to take hers and hold it on his lap as he drove, well, for Julie that was perfection. 

She basked in the sweetness of the moment, but when the song on the radio ended and the next song began, she squeezed Luke’s hand and laughed from excitement. “Finally Free” was playing on the radio, and even though she’d heard it on the radio before, that didn’t diminish how exciting it was every time she heard it on air. Both of them immediately started singing at the top of their lungs. 

“That might be my favorite song we’ve ever written,” Julie admitted when the song was over. 

“Better than ‘Stand Tall’? Better than ‘Perfect Harmony?’” Luke asked with a grin. 

“OK,  _ I  _ wrote ‘Perfect Harmony,’ not we. And speaking of, I’ve barely thought about that song in ages, but it popped into my head this afternoon and I haven’t been able to get rid of it,” Julie admitted. 

“Really?” Luke asked. “I love that song. I remember listening to it for the first time and being completely in awe of your talent. I could never put my feelings into words that well.” 

“I think you do a great job of putting your feelings into words. And into music. The way you use the music itself, the beat and the melody and the accompaniment, it’s incredible. You put your whole self into your songs, and I love that.”

Luke’s smile widened as Julie complimented him. “Well,  _ I _ love  _ you _ ,” he responded, squeezing her hand gently. 

Julie laughed. “It's not a contest, and I love you too.”

“I could definitely make it a contest if I wanted to,” Luke replied with a smirk as they arrived at the parking lot behind the coffee shop where they had (sort of) met so long ago. “Let me get your door!” 

Julie laughed as her boyfriend jumped out of the driver’s seat and raced around the car to open her door for her. “Always a perfect gentleman, huh?” she said teasingly as she took his hand and got out of the car. 

“You know my mother raised me to be a perfect Southern gentleman,” Luke said, still holding her hand as he escorted her around the building to the entrance of the coffee shop. 

“Yeah, I also know she was surprised when I told her about you going out of your way to open the car door for me and carry my backpack for me and cook dinner for me on our surprise first month anniversary date that was  _ supposed _ to be a song-writing-slash-homework session.”

Luke shrugged with a soft grin, remembering the occasion. “That was a perfect date,” he said softly. 

“That was the night I showed you ‘Perfect Harmony.’ Since I hadn’t gotten you a gift because I didn’t know we were celebrating,” Julie responded, rolling her eyes fondly at the memory. But when she saw the coffee shop through the windows, Julie gasped. “Luke,” she softly exhaled, turning to her boyfriend. “What is this?” 

He just smiled and gently pulled her to the door, opening it for her and gesturing for her to walk in. 

The normally casual atmosphere of the little coffee shop/cafe was transformed with twinkling lights hanging from the ceiling, vases of flowers on every table, and lots of candles. It was also completely empty except for the two of them. “I wanted tonight to be special,” Luke said, his cheeks flushing a little at Julie’s awe. He also rubbed his neck nervously. 

Julie turned back to him after looking at her surroundings. “Luke, it’s gorgeous! It’s perfect! But why?”

“Because  _ you’re _ perfect. You mean more to me than anything, Julie Valeria Molina. You’re my best friend. You know me better than anyone. You make me a better musician, a better writer, and a better man. You brought me back to my parents, and gave me the gift of your family too. Julie, I’ve been in love with you almost since we met, and it took me too long to ask you out, but I can’t make that mistake again.” Carefully, Luke got down on one knee in front of her, and Julie’s smile widened, even as her eyes widened in surprise. “Julie, will you marry me?” He pulled a small velvet bag out of his pocket and dumped a ring into his hand, then carefully held it out to her. 

Julie laughed joyfully and nodded. “Of course, Luke!” She grabbed his hand and pulled him back to a standing position, just to pull his face down to hers and kiss him deeply. 

After a moment, Luke pulled away from her and grabbed for her left hand. “Don’t forget the ring. It’s actually the ring Dad proposed to Mom with, and they’ve had a strong, happy marriage so far.” He carefully slid the ring onto her finger, and of course it fit perfectly. 

Julie’s eyes widened. “Luke!” She looked down at the ring. It had an oval-cut opal at the center and had four small square diamonds on each side. “It’s beautiful!” 

Luke smiled and took her hand once again. “You like it? Because I can get a different ring if you don’t, I just thought--”

Julie kissed him to shut him up. “It’s perfect! I love it!”

Luke took her hand to his lips and gently kissed her ring finger. “It feels right that you get my mom’s ring. From the beginning, she’s said you were like a daughter to her. And I know she always sort of thought I would end up with someone she’d hate.”

“You would never marry a girl who couldn’t get along with Emily!” Julie responded! “Besides, she’s completely wonderful! Any girl would be lucky to have her as a mother-in-law!” 

Luke hummed in agreement. “Yeah, she’s the best.”

The pair fell silent for a moment, and Luke pulled Julie into a hug. “We’re getting married!” 

“Heck yeah we are!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise!!! I hope you liked this epilogue! I've got a couple other things in the works at the moment, so I hope you'll be patient with me as I keep writing, and I hope you'll keep reading! Deep love for all of you! Thanks for all the encouragement and kind words and everything! This has been a super sweet experience for me because of you guys! 💖


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